I used to lie on the floor for hours after
school with the phone cradled between
my shoulder and my ear, a plate of cold
rice to my left, my school books to my right.
Twirling the cord between my fingers
I spoke to friends who recognized the
language of our realm. Throats and lungs
swollen, we talked into the heart of the night,
toying with the idea of hair dye and suicide,
about the boys who didn’t love us,
who we loved too much, the pang
of the nights. Each sentence was
new territory, like a door someone was
rushing into, the glass shattering
with delirium, with knowledge and fear.
My Mother never complained about the phone bill,
what it cost for her daughter to disappear
behind a door, watching the cord
stretching its muscle away from her.
Perhaps she thought it was the only way
she could reach me, sending me away
to speak in the underworld.
As long as I was speaking
she could put my ear to the tenuous earth
and allow me to listen, to decipher.
And these were the elements of my Mother,
the earthed wire, the burning cable,
as if she flowed into the room with
me to somehow say, Stay where I can reach you,
the dim room, the dark earth. Speak of this
and when you feel removed from it
I will pull the cord and take you
back towards me.
This poem stuck out to me more than the others. I immediately found it very interesting. It sounds like something an adolescent can relate to. It portrays the time when friends become closer and bonds with family get left behind and how the family tries desperately to reach out back to their beloved child. I think it is trying to convey a sense of growing up and how it's like to be a teenager. The poet uses descriptive language and it also seems that she makes lists within her sentences often.
Enlightening insight on the connections of a phone cord. It's nice to know that a friend is only a call away.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem because it shows readers the ways of a teenager, how once they get home they shut his or herself in a room and either start homework or get on the phone with a friend. It also kind of portrays how family connections between parents and their teenagers is crumbling, and family life in general. Great explanation buddy :3
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with your interpretation of this poem. I like this poem because of how easily the writer draws parallels with a phone cord and a friend.
ReplyDeletei think this poem is all about growing up too, and how a telephone can sometimes be the only thing that separates two friends. your interpretation was really accurate and i wish i had enough patience to read longer poems :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation of the poem (just like Elissa). To me it sounds like an estranged adolescent, so it's easy to relate to for certain people.
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation along with this one:
ReplyDeletehttp://english-9-cp.wikispaces.com/message/view/April+19+-+The+Cord/53077960#53078870
The other interpretation links to yours in the sense that the family is trying to get back to the adolescent.
Very relatable, interesting, and modern poem to capture a present day generalized adolescent. I enjoyed how down to earth this poem is. "toying with hair dye and suicide, about the boys who didn't love us, who we loved too much" were lines that stood out. Eerie how a poem can relate to many of us in just a few lines!
I believe that the poem is trying to highlight the relationship between the mother and the daughter, not the daughter and her relationship with her friends.
ReplyDeleteAgree Emily, the cord attaching the placenta to child has been replaced by a cord from daughter to friends. But, the mother allowing this cord between between friends 'she never complained about the phone bill.' The mothers acceptance of the need for the child to pull away is what keeps the child attached to the mother.
ReplyDelete