HEy everyone..
I was reading this poem and was wondering what he meant in the 4th stanza... and aslo in the 8th and 9th stanza.. ive started reading poetry and am a little confused when analyzing some of this lol
I know you're messed up, the cop said,
pushing his face up close to mine,
angry because when I blew, the little needle
of the breathalyzer didn't even move--
From the bloodless line of his mouth,
it seemed that I had really disappointed him,
not just by the crime
of creativity in driving,
but by the crime of not
being drunk enough to justify punishment.
Yes, I have been to the movies--I understand
how justice is mainly a reason
for disproportionate revenge--
for bodies flung through hotel windows,
exploding helicopters, speargunned
drugdealer-terrorist-Russian spies.
But here in the close-up I did not appreciate
the cold eye of justice staring into my face.
I know you're messed up on something,
he said again,
and how could I disagree?
when each day I am blown about
by wild gusts of jealousy and rage,
unrequited love, and the vacant panic
that comes from feeling powerless--
when every day I shoot and stab
dozens of my fellow citizens
for the felony of coexisting.
And then there are the many other days
when I simply stay in hiding,
like a rabbit holding still in the grass,
trying to avoid detection,
trying to quiet its own beating heart.
--Tony Hoagland
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