ADOLESCENCE II
(by Rita Dove)
Although it is night, I sit in the bathroom, waiting.
Sweat prickles behind my knees, the baby-breasts are alert.
Venetian blinds slice up the moon; the tiles quiver in pale strips.
Then they come, the three seal men with eyes as round
As dinner plates and eyelashes like sharpened tines.
They bring the scent of licorice. One sits in the wash bowl,
One on the bathtub edge; one leans against the door.
"Can you feel it yet?" they whisper.
I don't know what to say, again. They chuckle,
Patting their sleek bodies with their hands.
"Well, maybe next time." And they rise,
Glittering like pools of ink under moonlight,
And vanish. I clutch at the ragged holes
They leave behind, here at the edge of darkness.
Night rests like a ball of fur on my tongue.
© Rita Dove
7 voices:
There is ambiguity for me: is the onset of sexuality what is troubling her, is there a more real threat or is she drawn to what is stirring in her (hence the clutching when they've gone)? The imagery is breathtaking.....the sleek seal men, the sliced up moon (brilliant this), night resting like a ball of fur on her tongue. Thanks for posting this, it is a very emotive poem.
Jo,
Welcome to the club. I love this poem and the feeling that it so vividly conveys. But I can't say why she was sitting where she was, why she was waiting for them (who's them?), nor what she's supposed to feel (Can you feel it yet?). But I'll listen to T.S.Eliot who said that to communicate, a poem doesn't have to be understood. This is the perfect example, I think. A very emotive poem, as you say.
For sure it doesn't :) I love choice!
I like Rita Dove ! She writes good poetry.
she is a CLASSIC!
I've read this before. I really enjoy Ms. Dove's work. Will you consider sharing "After Reading Mickey in the Night Kitchen for the Third Time Before Bed I'm in the milk and the milk's in me"?
I believe she is confused by her woman power. The moon is often associated with women. The title suggests the onset of her budding sexuality. These years can be disturbing, nightmarish, certainly confusing. She is waiting because she doesn't know what else to do and the feelings are growing not abating so she waits. I'm one woman infusing my own experiences and sense of impeding womanhood here.
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