Step 1: Rehumanization
I am a wall, it said,
recognizing its flat face and
layers of make up. Put on,
take off, reapply, rinse, do again,
mirrors, brushes, palettes.
Its more a collage
than a human or a wall.
-
Yes, anything can change
but will it? Time is an
erosion but facades have a
half-life of however long it
takes for them to be found
out (over two). I’m over you.
-
Its no wonder that nail polish remover
and the drinks I guzzle
have the same primary ingredient.
Alcohol is a catalyst and
literally it rehumanizes through
disintegration of barriers.
-
We flaunt and worship painted, angular walls,
while morbidly forgetting to furnish the interiors
on which others gaze as they grow closer
and peer through our windows.
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I really liked this poem.Honestly I got the overall meaning of the poem but I could not understand it properly.So I would be very happy if you could write 2-3 sentences telling me the intended meaning in simple words.Another thing i didn't understand was the first line-
'I am a wall, it said'-who is 'it said' referred to hear?
my favorite part is this- Its no wonder that nail polish remover
and the drinks I guzzle
have the same primary ingredient.
I hope to see more of your work.It was a really good poem.
we put on a mask to disguise our true feelings and personality in order not to be criticized by a mostly immature and insecure public. My mask got to small for me a while ago so I decided to take it off.
A cultural commentary poem about personal façades, I see it. Our walls will all break down eventually. When the time comes, what will our inside-selves look like when we've been spending our whole time obsessing the outside? Yeah, I see it.
I don't particularly like that make-up is being paralleled with paint-on-walls, as if it is only something that covers up, when make-up can be so much more. Make-up can be liberating, and it can allow a person greater self-expression than they felt they could achieve without it. When you say that we forget to "furnish the interiors" through this process, the tone is very condescending. That line takes the view that those who do enjoy or make a hobby/life work out of altering their appearance have empty heads or no thought to their craft.
"Time is an
erosion but facades have a
half-life of however long it
takes for them to be found
out (over two). I’m over you."
For what otherwise looked like an analysis on culture, this line is strangely personal and also very confusing. I don't know where "(over two)" or "I'm over you" comes from, and these two phrases seem to have only been written for the sake of an aurally pleasing rhyme.
In the third stanza, because this is a poem on how to "rehumanize" ourselves, are you advocating alcohol as a solution to the problem of our hiding behind "walls?"
"Its more a collage
than a human or a wall."
This line contradicts the entire walls/furnishing & exterior/interior metaphor of your poem.
All in all, there is a very cynical and bitter tone present, and this has made me a little depressed, which I don't think was your intention. If you were to have another culturally analytic writing up over peoples' obsession with beauty, I suggest choosing something which you can make empowering. How do we turn this into a positive?