Notice of absence from HannahElisabeth
Taking a long overdue mental health vacation. I will check in when I can.
Taking a long overdue mental health vacation. I will check in when I can.
Make me dance with your strings
Nothing ever given fully
Strings you call love
But conditionally
Bend us
To your will for fun
Wrapped around your finger
Your love is like a loaded gun
And you learned quick to pull the trigger
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Author:
HannahElisabeth (
Offline) - Published: August 7th, 2021 13:40
- Comment from author about the poem: I wrote this after walking away from dysfunctional family dynamics and found inspiration from the ballet dancer being controlled by strings. The artwork is by Christine Armstrong, at shapingthecrazy.com. Check out her work, she is a phenomenal artist.
- Category: Family
- Views: 20
Offline)
Comments3
I think one of the most interesting things to me is the word love in conjunction with the word conditional. Obviously the dictionary has various definitions to describe the word love, but when it comes to that of the heart, I always feel like there is only one. To which you either have love or you have not.
I think that is why when the conditional element gets added, it is so powerful and impacting to my understanding. Because at the introduction of condition, love is dissolved. It then becomes a performance piece, exactly like the theme of your poem, a marionette, a calculated manipulation to meet the demands of self-service. It is a really appalling and a messed up thing to have to experience, utterly terrible, in fact.
Just the stark contrast, where my idea of love is entirely based on selflessness, the deliberate intention and choice to be selfless for another, sacrificial to a degree, the marionette is otherworldly to that paradigm. It is a radical and quite traumatic shift.
Needless to say, what your writing portrays is near to perfection. Absolutely superb.
Thank you kindly! That's precisely the point, it wasn't love at all. More like a means to an end, and if you don't keep up the performance, the consequences are severe. At the very least, it taught me what love is not. For that, I'm thankful.
I'm really liking your style Hannah. Your poems are concise and direct yet never feel rushed. You right about things so relatable that the reader can easily put themself in your place and feel the emotion that flows from every line. Excellent write🙂
Thank you Coyote, same to you. I think that's why your poetry resonates so much with me 🙂
Shorty for a change:
Dysfunctional families everywhere -
It's power, not love which is hard to bear.
Generational trauma is no joke, but when I dedicate my dissertation to them, it will be 😉
Let me know, please.
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