Journal of Poetry Therapy
(June 2012), Vol. 25, No. 2, pg. 123- 124
Poetry
Family Journal
The old folks were in polyester
flowered shirts and saggy pants
pretending to be ordinary people
pretending to know us
when God knows who
they thought we were
the servers, the chefs, the caterers
they ate with gusto the chicken,
the bright peas, the lemon meringue pie
they wanted iced tea with no ice
so they got their money's worth
not knowing the price of the meal
we answered their questions
their over- and- over questions
each of us in turn
giving different answers
to the same questions
we made up answers
we made up stories
we showed photos of grandchildren
they pretended to remember
fathers and brothers and dogs
still alive for those who had outlived them
who counted the cost of ice
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I shared this poem and some people had perceptions of it saying how people are disconnected and how we fake to impress others. I thought these were interesting ways of understanding this poem.
What do you think?
I think this poem has a true meaning behind it. It means that many people pretend to be someone or something that they are not meaning they are insecure and unconfined.They are not happy with themselves either how they look or their personality. Therefore, this poem can relate to people like that in real life situations.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem really looks into the normal occurrences of everyday life, but it takes a negative view on them. The author’s use of descriptive language was very effective in this poem; the ideas presented are very well described, as I was able to picture everything. In regards to an overall meaning, I agree that there was an idea of hiding what you really are. This was extremely obvious when it talks about the grandparents making up stories about grandchildren they didn’t remember. This can also be referring to the difficulties that elderly people face in our society.
ReplyDelete- J. Christi
I think some of the words in this poem are quite closely related to what the poet wants to say. Repeating words like “pretending” or “made up answers/stories” to me are cynically expressing the negative view of our everyday life. It is interesting and sad fact that Christi mentioned above about the difficulties elderly people face. I do too think this poem points out some sad occurrences and the consequences in our society.
ReplyDelete