All Comments on 'Charades'

by annaswirls

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greenmountaineergreenmountaineeralmost 15 years ago
Intriguing

I was very intrigued by this but somewhat bewildered at the conclusion of it. Here goes my read of it for what it’s worth: I actually liked it very much without the first stanza and last two lines in the last stanza in which case the “fool’s game” for me was resisting the aging process, this life force within us that seeks beauty and tries, sometimes vainly, to hold on to it the way it once was, rather than re-define it in the context of our current reality (e.g., growing old gracefully). With the 2 mentioned stanzas, I wondered if the fool’s game had more to do with your partner but the metaphors of sand and desert didn’t contribute sufficiently for me if that was the case. However, I’m stilling thinking about it, which is what good poems are supposed to make you do. I really like your work and read all of your postings.

bflagsstbflagsstalmost 15 years ago
No part of the poem can be removed

without the whole falling to bits. Maybe there's a word or line I'd change in it, but as a whole it's a solid poem and I don't follow Greenmountain's aesthetics. The poem made me think about the silliness and seriousness of how a woman has to present herself in our culture.

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