"We used to say
that all the time to joke
we’d given up: “Screw it!”
But we hadn’t. Given up
that is."
In my reading of the poem, these lines to me are representative of the trying times of youth, where you just want to pack it all in, though you do not, you push forward, little achievements leading to a fruitful life. Though she fixes the drawer pull, she notes that the drawer falls open anyway, as though to say that try as she might to remedy some facets of life they continue to present issues for her, and instead of struggling and growing angry, or getting rid of the dresser all together, she gently pushes it closed with her knee.
Good, Aisling. It's a nice reminder that sometimes the best poems are about the simplest things. Or put another way: Complexity lies within simplicity.
ReplyDeleteI thought in a similar way of Shaughnessy's "Life Work," in that she does focus on such a tedious task. However, I almost viewed her lack of anger and frustration as though nothing matters. When she says, "I must empty the drawer of thee clothes nobody's ever worn and nobody ever will," I believe that is her proclaiming, "why am I even doing this?" And ends it with, "whenever I walk past it I'm always pushing it closed with my knee."
ReplyDeleteI really like the part:
"These details make it seem like real life" ...
"Home is where we stay safe and warm, yet keep it hot and ever wanting it to be a beautiful story [as well as real and aware of pain,]"
I think she is sort of sarcastic there, but also straight to the point. I think she focuses on this "pull" to sarcastically say that this is what her life's work is: mothering, fixing things, etc. not some crazy adventure that some people may claim to have.
That's what I seemed to get out of it all!