Tuesday, October 1, 2013

As You Never Bothered to Return My Call (August Kleinzahler)

As You Never Bothered to Return My Call by August Kleinzahler

I enjoy this poem. Its cadence - its long, prosaic flow. Its conversational tone and obviously young man pining and a little hurt point of view. It's an idyllic confessional - that sounds like it could be something you heard someone say at a bar - but only do on tv shows or in the movies. It's too polished for real life.

The syntax. The occasional ellipses -- that strikes me as very 20-something as well. And the dropped line at the end adds a meaning and a sadness to the final word that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

I like this poem which is rooted in time - not a particular decade, but in a common era of life.  Your first real love that ends.

Favorite line: "the first one, the best one, the 1954 one"
the first one, the best one, the 1954 one,

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What do you think of today's poem?