Sonnet : To Eva

Sylvia Plath

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All right, let's say you could take a skull and break it
The way you'd crack a clock; you'd crush the bone
Between steel palms of inclination, take it,
Observing the wreck of metal and rare stone.

This was a woman : her loves and stratagems
Betrayed in mute geometry of broken
Cogs and disks, inane mechanic whims,
And idle coils of jargon yet unspoken.

Not man nor demigod could put together
The scraps of rusted reverie, the wheels
Of notched tin platitudes concerning weather,
Perfume, politics, and fixed ideals.

The idiot bird leaps up and drunken leans
To chirp the hour in lunatic thirteens.

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Comments3
  • Roro81

    Wow, really interesting, powerful and little bit gory. Not sure how I feel about, but it's definitely left an impact on me. The imagery, too...its just puissant.

    • hassiematthews5

      Definitely a unique and haunting read.

      • rlndyvwsay

        Just read "Sonnet: To Eva" and wow, it's intense! The imagery of breaking a skull "the way you'd crack a clock" is such a powerful metaphor. The references to the "cogs and disks", "wheels of notched tin platitudes" depict the complexity of a woman's mind visually. The "idiot bird" ending gives it an eccentric touch. Cool poem!