My mouth blooms like a cut.
I've been wronged all year, tedious
nights, nothing but rough elbows in them
and delicate boxes of Kleenex calling crybaby
crybaby , you fool !
Before today my body was useless.
Now it's tearing at its square corners.
It's tearing old Mary's garments off, knot by knot
and see — Now it's shot full of these electric bolts.
Zing! A resurrection!
Once it was a boat, quite wooden
and with no business, no salt water under it
and in need of some paint. It was no more
than a group of boards. But you hoisted her, rigged her.
She's been elected.
My nerves are turned on. I hear them like
musical instruments. Where there was silence
the drums, the strings are incurably playing. You did this.
Pure genius at work. Darling, the composer has stepped
into fire.
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She's been elected
That line struck like a thunderbolt. A lot of women feel this way from time to time, a great feeling. But, as I believe Sexton may be trying to say, the feeling often turned out to be an illusion.
Good on ya, Anne. -
I like this piece- it's a portrayal of how Sexton could cover a range of topics, images, emotions whilst evoking a bold manner, typically toward the end proving to be most effective. It seems Sexton has also inspired the band 'My Ruin' with their song 'My beautiful flower', starting with the same opening line. Excellent
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