we have built glass houses around ourselves.
we have crafted exquisite walls, gilded doors,
glass ceilings that scrape a stunning cerulean sky.
we have made our own beautiful cages.
...
somewhere, a girl who hasn’t stopped growing twists a ring around her finger.
it's made out of diamond, expensive, but all she can think of
is everything she is leaving behind.
her childhood lies scattered in the dust beneath her feet
as she walks down an aisle.
...
somewhere, a woman who swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth
stands, accused of lies, before the world.
so many questions about the night her future was thrown away,
when her protests were drowned out amid shared breath and mingling skin.
...
somewhere, someone who felt unwelcome hands on her skin stands in the shower
scrubbing again and again
at phantom brushes of fingertips where they shouldn’t be.
it’s hard to wash away those secrets, and
she hears bones clacking in her closet.
she scrubs. thinks. again and again.
out of sight, out of mind.
...
they fall in their own crystallized traps.
all they hear are the echoes of their cries.
i tense at every car that passes when i walk alone.
i put keys between my fingers and clench my fists--
like a superhero, i tell myself.
i feel anything but invincible.
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139,430 Literary Works • 672,563 Reviews
Hi erilea, Katja here to review your poem. Please feel free to disregard any and all comments or suggestions I make should you find them to be unhelpful. With that being said, Onto the review!
Overall Interpretation and Opinion
Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but your poem seems to be expressing the way that we tend to shield ourselves from the reality that our world is quite corrupt and full of evil... It seems to emphasize the fact that it is unsafe and yet we tend to sort of deflect and pretend that bad things don't happen, even when we have so many people out there who have fell victim to said evils.
Your poem uses "glass houses" which I perceived as a metaphor to a false sense of security we have built around our awareness, to shield ourselves from the reality of our cruel world. Pairing this with the title, I felt a strong comparison between glass houses and false security. It is clear from the last few lines that the narrator does not feel safe, yet convinces themselves that they are "like a superhero" but acknowledging that they do not at all feel "invincible" like one.
Your use of imagery was astounding, to say the least.
It was both beautifully touching and also disturbing for me, as some of the lines really made me think about the bad things that happen in this world. Your poem is thought-provoking and leaves the reader thinking.
To say the least, I loved it. I may not have perceived it correctly, so if i didn't, my apologies. Regardless, I found it incredibly meaningful and well-written. I was amazed by the maturity in the tone, the meaningful expression and imagery. Very impressive poem!
Suggestions
My only suggestion is on this line:
If i understood this part, i feel like it should have been worded "shouldn't have been" rather than "shouldn't be"
Other than that, I have nothing else for you. Well done! I hope to read more of your work soon! You have real talent
Keep writing,
-Katja
Thanks! The glass houses were to represent the false security, yes, but also to quite literally put up a "glass ceiling" (i.e., the barrier/discrimination that women face in the workplace). I appreciate your comments!
Hi there!!
This is amazing and very true.
Thanks!
Wow this was just a lovely poem. You have a real talent. This poem has so much emotion in it, and it is so true too. They way she lock our selves up on the inside and don't let anyone in. This is just so true. I think this poem could be published in a book of poems. I think it's that good.
Never stop writing and have a great day/night.
Your friend
Shikora.
Thanks for the praise!