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238th Virtual Poetry Circle

Welcome to the 238th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s book suggested.

Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2014 Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge because there are several levels of participation for your comfort level.

For more poetry, check out the stops on the 2013 National Poetry Month Blog Tour and the 2012 National Poetry Month Blog Tour.  And think about participating in the 2014 National Poetry Month Blog Tour — signups will begin in March.

Today’s poem is from Kevin Hughes in Poems for the Writing: Prompts for Poets (my review):

I Can't Stand You (page 60)

I cant stand you like I can't stand a paper cut,
Like I can't stand that guy
Talking on his cell phone in the library,
Like I can't stand driving behind a grandmother.

I can't stand you any more than I can stand
A smudge on my glasses,
Or a bug on my windshield,
Or a pimple on my nose.

I can't stand you the way
Poets can't stand clichés,
Nuns sacrilege,
Or teachers teacher's pets.

What do you think?

Comments

  1. Sounds like an exciting historical thriller!

  2. I wonder if the subject of this poem is really as annoying as all the things he lists. He certainly doesn’t hold back. That person must be important enough given the extent of this diatribe.

  3. Oh, how I’d love to know the backstory of what happened between these two people. 🙂

  4. There is a touch of desperation here, almost addiction. I can almost hear the speaker saying,”I can quit anytime.”

  5. Beth Hoffman says

    Here’s my take: I read the poem twice and felt the person who is detested has a strange hold on this narrator, and though the words spouted are to diminish and prove insignificance, they in fact, indicate otherwise, even if on a subconscious level.

  6. What I got from this is that the person annoys him yet at the same time is so insignificant that he can wipe them away like a bug on the windshield and give them no more thought. The person is detestable yet insignificant.

    • Becca, I agree. It seems like this person is so significant but he doesn’t want them to be. He wants to be able to forget them and brush them aside. There seems to be a deep hurt here.