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?
Sounds like an exciting historical thriller!
It is devoid of specific detail…seems very universal to me.
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.
It is interesting….i wonder if the lack of backstory is meant to make the poem more relateable.
Oh, how I’d love to know the backstory of what happened between these two people. 🙂
Yes, that’s one drawback to this type of poem, unless the poet wants to provide more backstory.
There is a touch of desperation here, almost addiction. I can almost hear the speaker saying,”I can quit anytime.”
I think that desperation comes across in the ending–a love/hate poem maybe…
It is a love/hate poem.
There does seem to be some sort of addiction to this relationship or person. Makes you wonder about how deep the relationship was for the other person or if it was only in the narrator’s head.
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.
Yes, I agree.
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.