Sunday, April 18, 2010

Untitled (You Did Say...) - Marilyn Hacker

Marilyn Hacker two days in a row (see previous)....  She is also someone with a masterful command of and ability to write poems fitting different forms, such as sonnets, villanelles, etc.  This one is in sonnet form.
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Untitled
You did say, need me less and I'll want you more.
I'm still shell-shocked at needing anyone,
used to being used to it on my own. 
It won't be me out on the tiles till four-
thirty, while you're in bed, willing the door 
open with your need. You wanted her then, 
more. Because you need to, I woke alone 
in what's not yet our room, strewn, though, with your 
guitar, shoes, notebook, socks, trousers enjambed 
with mine. Half the world was sleeping it off 
in every other bed under my roof. 
I wish I had a roof over my bed 
to pull down on my head when I feel damned 
by wanting you so much it looks like need. 
                                                                                        Marilyn Hacker - American

1 comment:

Schuyler Gregg said...

Where was this poem first published? I love her use of the word "shell-shocked" in this poem. The ending is a killer, too.