(Untitled)

[sophiesback]

SUZANNE GOES DOWN

My name is Suzanne
I am learning military words
The father of my abortion was in Special Forces
He killed people in hot jungles.
My brain is a hot jungle.
We deal in amphetamines and weapons.
We have a machine gun in our trailer.
It leans against the same couch
with me and someone else's year-old baby.
I am drunk. 
I play patty-cake with the

Comments

[hominyharmony]

wish i could reproduce on here the sort of appreciative wide eyed groan i made in reaction
this is such a good example of the writing style i really value
some of my peers (in creative writing, friends...) value word play and really really deliberate cleverness in their poetry/prose, and on the other end, people will be penetrative with their personal issues, the things that make the hair on their ear stand up as one woman put it, but they are using abstract, broad words that actually end up holding less human universality than specifics word (ie the dreaded overuse of "isolation", "innocence", etc etc)
also this piece is so localized and body conscious
love it

[hominyharmony]

the bit about word play and broadness was supposed to be presented as an opponent to the writing style i like/that this poem embodies, if that wasn't clear

sorry for preachiness, i'm just glad to see a poem i appreciate!

[sophiesback]

I am glad that you liked this poem. The author paints a very vivid picture. Nitty Gritty.

[sophiesback]

You should check out the book I read it in.
Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.