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i may be the only woman who hates sylvia plath --
by Eli Skipp
nor Emily Dickinson --
nor Virginia Woolf --
this de-feminates me.
my feet hurt from stomping around for twelve hours,
carrying plates and busing glasses,
knowing that the old and lecherous tip me for my tits,
that the young do so for my haircut;
no. i am not just tired.
i am angry, self-righteous, self-centered, and fearfully modest.
i will never be stoically depressed,
because sylvia --
likewise i am immasculated.
to the busser and cook who have never been drunk in the parking lot with me:
stop it. i am disinterested.
to the dilettante at the liquor-store window:
oh luddite.
iterative.
inasmuch as i am a feminist
(in my bitterness, how can i be questioned?)
sylvia, you are not a powerful woman.
sylvia, the way the yellow wallpaper spins and clicks and cages,
you are not a powerful woman.07/22/2007 Author's Note: yes, i am well aware that plath did not write "The Yellow Wallpaper,"
(it is merely a reference to weak women)
Posted on 07/22/2007
Copyright © 2024 Eli Skipp
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Anne Boulender on 07/22/07 at 04:45 AM no you are not the only woman who hates sylvia plath. i don't like her anymore either. although, maybe it sort of ruins it that i once did. it wasn't that she didn't have skill, it was something else that would take me too long to explain. i love the subject matter here. someone totally needed to write about this. this is proof that everything good hasnt already been written. btw nice line about the haircuts and the other things. |
| Posted by Joe Cramer on 07/24/07 at 12:13 AM I enjoyed this... though I must admit that I am indeed a fan of Plath, though I like "The Bell Jar" moreso than her poetry... your piece is exceptional.... write on! (Did I mention that I enjoy $#%@inson too?) |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 07/24/07 at 12:09 PM My knowledge of Plath and Wolfe and $#%@inson were cut-off at the path; before having an opportunity to form an opinion, it was already practically a "rule" that they be honored and that they are among the "greatests" ? ? ?
I am right alongside Jon's note here:
why I find your work exceptional: —because it regularly and consistently reminds me that everything good hasn't already been written.
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| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 07/24/07 at 12:12 PM [I didn't know that Emily couldn't have her last name spelled out in here. Interesting...]
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| Posted by Ken Harnisch on 09/22/07 at 05:14 AM ..as a man, can't say she impressed me much...dead or deader and sainted, as she is, by all too many |
| Posted by Lauren Singer on 01/26/08 at 07:24 PM this is a gold gold gem. you write "big words" the way i wish i could. making them sound easy and accurate instead of pretentious. plus the whole damn message is an anthem in itself. aaaamen. |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 03/15/09 at 03:25 PM I agree with every word of this. I admire woman (and men) who rise above obstacles and make soomething of their lives! |
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