It's morning and all of the world
is staged
at the ideal distance of a shootout.
The guns have been selected,
the same ones always,
your needs, my needs.
The person responsible for counting one, two, three, shoot
was late,
and until his arrival
we sat on the same goodmorning
and gazed at nature.
The countryside was going through puberty
and the green was being lewd.
The pastoral June dragged
screams of a trophied atrocity.
Gripping and swinging
from a branch of trees and sensations
to a branch of trees and sensations,
a short film's Tarzan
chased invisible beasts
in the small jungle of a story.
The forest was promising birds
and snakes.
A venomous abundance of opposites.
The daylight fell sharp on
everything that wasn't daylight,
and the amatory brightness
kissed passionately everything that wasn't love,
even your own frown.
There was no one at the small church
other than its charged name, the Liberator.
One defiant Jesus
was counting his life with a miser's passion:
nails and thorns.
No wonder he hasn't heard
the shootings.
---------------------------------------------
Personal notes:
This poem was published as part of the collection 'The little of the world' (1971).
In this poem, Dimoula describes the inherent contradictions and tension in a married couple's life.
The first stanza describes a couple's relationship as a battle of needs. Dimoula suggests tensions arise from desiring to fulfil one's needs when being with another person. The stanza sets the stage for an imminent 'shootout' between a couple. The 'shootout' may refer to an argument, or physical tension, perhaps even during lovemaking. Dimoula suggests these tensions are common in marriage ("the same ones always").
The rest of the poem prolongs (or delays) the execution of this 'shootout', which doesn't occur until the poem's last line, by elaborating on the contradictions in the thoughts and feelings of a married couple.
Dimoula suggests marriage is like an imaginary 'jungle', filled with liberating ("birds") but also stifling ("snakes") sensations and thoughts. The second and third stanza describe moments of passion that entice these contradictions.
Passion and feelings take over rational thoughts (another contradiction) in the third stanza, as one lover continues to embrace the other, despite obvious disengagement and dissatisfaction ("frown").
The last stanza suggests religion encourages (or even misleads) people to commit to marriage, without acknowledging its tensions and complexities. Dimoula suggests here that there is a contradiction between the church's liberating promise and the strains of marriage.
Personal notes:
This poem was published as part of the collection 'The little of the world' (1971).
In this poem, Dimoula describes the inherent contradictions and tension in a married couple's life.
The first stanza describes a couple's relationship as a battle of needs. Dimoula suggests tensions arise from desiring to fulfil one's needs when being with another person. The stanza sets the stage for an imminent 'shootout' between a couple. The 'shootout' may refer to an argument, or physical tension, perhaps even during lovemaking. Dimoula suggests these tensions are common in marriage ("the same ones always").
The rest of the poem prolongs (or delays) the execution of this 'shootout', which doesn't occur until the poem's last line, by elaborating on the contradictions in the thoughts and feelings of a married couple.
Dimoula suggests marriage is like an imaginary 'jungle', filled with liberating ("birds") but also stifling ("snakes") sensations and thoughts. The second and third stanza describe moments of passion that entice these contradictions.
Passion and feelings take over rational thoughts (another contradiction) in the third stanza, as one lover continues to embrace the other, despite obvious disengagement and dissatisfaction ("frown").
The last stanza suggests religion encourages (or even misleads) people to commit to marriage, without acknowledging its tensions and complexities. Dimoula suggests here that there is a contradiction between the church's liberating promise and the strains of marriage.
Dear George,
ReplyDeleteThis poem is very clever. Which is not to belittle it at all, it is more so a reflection on this reader! I had no idea what it was about but was enjoying it immensely, particularly the second and third stanzas.
I read your notes and it is as though a light is turned on. It makes perfect sense but it is so hard to see this. Words like 'puberty' the reference to 'Tarzan' mean that I would never have come to marriage. But in reading it again, I love how the opening image of the morning rings true in this sense, very much.
But I enjoyed this very much. I feel like I have done a short puzzle: satisfied and smiling.
j