this is something that i have been on the fence about doing, but i want to offer a literary analysis on one of my poems the art of escapism.
truthfully, i don’t know if i will do this again because i do believe that interpretation of any writing is very important in the literary world and it offers the reader to think creatively beyond the writer’s words and add their own context to how they see fit. i find that super beautiful and that’s one thing that i enjoy about writing. though, in this case, i want to take the time to explain each line and offer my thought process with writing the poem.
this poem is titled “the art of escapism” for two reasons: escaping the real world and escaping the mind. escaping the real world is a feeling that the narrator has because as it was phrased, “existing is exhausting.” waking up and going through the motions of life is such a challenging thing at times. also, being in your own mind, deep in thought, can be frightening. the narrator gets so deep in thought and it becomes this endless cycle to the point where they want to escape their mind. they’re in this limbo of not wanting to be a person but also not wanting to cease their existence.
i stopped at a green light last night
to listen to the cold static on the radio.
i wanted to be alone;
i wanted to strain out every thought
from my restless mind
and feel empty.
this first stanza is based off of taking the time to stop and rest. stopping at a green light is symbolic of pausing when life is good and karma is treating you well. listening to the “cold static” is helping the narrator block out everything and is an aid to helping him feel alone. most individuals fall asleep to white noise, which blocks out any silence or noises one may here in the night. it is the ultimate best friend to helping people sleep, and white noise can be comparable to radio static. if the narrator was listening to music, then there would be vocals and in that case, he would not be alone. the static, though, does help him block out the silence. at this point, he is escaping his outer body and reflecting on his emotions.
existing is exhausting.
the feeling of taking up too much space
crashes like an unexpected visitor,
and the emotion settles in comfortably,
as if i’m a guest in my own home.
“goddamn it, i need some peace.”
this second stanza is essentially a look into the narrator’s thoughts. i wanted to create this flow and depict this endless cycle of having an unexpected visitor that is rude and disrespectful. a visitor that doesn’t make you feel welcome in your place of residence. that’s how these emotions feel for the narrator, and that’s so difficult.
i watched the light turned yellow,
then red.
the clock turned to midnight.
i pressed the gas pedal.
i always worsen things when told to stop,
but i need to return back home.
the lines are choppy and sudden, and i wanted to contrast the third stanza of the poem from the first two. driving at a red light intentionally is dangerous and can have serious repercussions on other people and yourself. there’s a chaos behind that idea, and the point of a red light is to stop. “i always worsen things when told to stop,” is comparative to this, because the narrator as this point has gotten so deep in thought that it is becoming too intrusive and too dangerous. it’s a common pattern of behavior for him, but he wants to go back home. he doesn’t want to feel like a guest in his own home anymore and he wants to feel safe in his brain and on the planet. here, the narrator is trying to escape his mind and what it has created for him. it’s become too dangerous for him to exist there, and as a result, he needs to go back home.
if you took the time to read this, i want to thank you as i enjoyed writing this poem. i know it’s not definitely a great piece, but i have been trying to be more thoughtful about my poetry. it’s something i want to try to accomplish throughout the year.
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