You And I
If you and I were married,
You would be Vikram Seth
And I, Sylvia Plath;
We would weave elaborate webs
That choke and kill and feed
On each other’s fires.
While you try desperately
To find your meter
I would have already dipped my sword
In ink and killed myself
Without any hope
Of resurrection.
You would then publish me
After you have happily wedded
A second time,
And my Pulitzer will hang
Like a noose
Around your neck.
Fame will pursue you
Yet you will keep wondering
Whether you have lost your music
Along with your unsuitable girl,
Whether the glory
Is truly yours or mine alone.
You would be Vikram Seth
And I, Sylvia Plath;
We would weave elaborate webs
That choke and kill and feed
On each other’s fires.
While you try desperately
To find your meter
I would have already dipped my sword
In ink and killed myself
Without any hope
Of resurrection.
You would then publish me
After you have happily wedded
A second time,
And my Pulitzer will hang
Like a noose
Around your neck.
Fame will pursue you
Yet you will keep wondering
Whether you have lost your music
Along with your unsuitable girl,
Whether the glory
Is truly yours or mine alone.
Labels: poetry
Selected by incognito |
10:45 |
6 Comments:
Excellent poem - very, very Plath-ish. But you must agree your verb with your subject: "...elaborate webs/That would choke and kill and feed..." NOT "chokes and kills and feeds." Webs - plural!
Otherwise first rate - sounds almost like Sylvia addressing Ted!
thanks a lot :-)
Lovely...liked it a lot...although I'm not sure if it is entirely in the vein of Sylvia Plath....haven't read much of her poetry but my impression is that her poetry is slightly more bitter and filled with angst compared to yours...you poem, inspite of the apparent anger is suffused with a delicate hope and wry humor. Am I right?
Very nice, Nisha... It was a pleasure reading that one - which is saying a lot.
Excellent - I love the way you've weaved the characters of Plath and Seth in the poem!
Couldn't resist responding to Anil - Plath's work is often described as "confessional poetry" - she is noted for the manner in which she put the speaker of her poems at the center, giving the autobiogrpahical details of her work a more universal appeal. Yeps, her poems held much much more angst than this one, whether she was dealing with hysteria, madness or suicides!
spot on!
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