Poem for my Mother –by Jennifer Davids
Transcript of Poem for my Mother –by Jennifer Davids
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Poem for my Mother – by Jennifer DavidsThat isn’t everything, you saidon the afternoon I brought a poemto you hunched over the washtubwith your handsthe shrivelled.burnt granadillaskin of your handscovered by foam.
And my wordsslid like a ball of hard blue soapinto the tubto be grabbed and used by youto rub the clothes.
A poem isn’t allthere is to life, you said.with your blue-ringed gazescanning the pageonce looking over my shoulder and my wordsand back at the immediate being clencheddirty water. smaller and smaller
Contrasts other poems – creates false expectation
Aural meaning early in poem…
Repeated – emphasis
on aural…
Hidden connection between mom
& daughter – not just age/activity of mom
Something that consumes time
Taste… sour/bitter
White… clinical…
Snow… cold
Synesthesia of words/images/gestures/sound to
form specific meaning. Too unique?
Providing access to new vocabulary, adding
new meaning and universality: shunt, discard, evade, elude, avoid, dismiss, dodge
Exasperated, tired, disappointment
Contrast to the
speaker’s
expectations.
Links mom and
daughter – both
disappointed
Space: further away Afterwards
Space: close (on the moment)
Movement: static, uncomfortable
Violent manner: power relation?
Directly after: reaction