eternities between moments
Today my ego asked me why I was so weak.
I didn't understand the question at first,
But slowly, I came to understand
What it was asking me was why
The base things of nature always win
Despite my most earnest intentions.
To stall, I gave my ego a steely stare.
That suspended the conversation,
Elliptical, for a second as I fumbled.
I deflated the pressure gauge with hostility,
Marking eternities between moments.
Finally, I stirred,
Having contemplated.
"How can change occur,"
I asked with a smirk,
"When the mind and the body,
Want very different things."
I already knew the response,
But I waited, and the two of us
Stood face to face, breathing
Shame into the spiteful inch between us.
Silent.
Posted Feb 23, 2018, 1:01 AM UTC · edited
I like your discourse into the freudian id and ego. The pacing is also really nice. However, and this is a personal opinion, I find myself a little confused by the last two lines. I see what you're trying to do, playing with genre by questioning the prose-poetic nature of the poem. It seems like a great question to have, and a great discourse to explore, but I wonder if this is the right poem to do so in. Perhaps this meta-commentary is best saved for another poem that deals more with questions of genre.
Again, personal opinion.
I think I agree with the assessment of the last two lines. It's a holdover from an earlier version of the poem that was a lot more meta. Thanks for the feedback.