I live inside her twisted mind.
There was no choice. She left the door
ajar and casually asked me to come in—
youth can be so careless these days.
At night, listening to the lullabies
of a lovelorn owl, we watch the moonrise
in the waters of the river past her door.
First-time riffs, trip on the wings of ravens
counting the banjos in the Poplar Valley.
I consume her thoughts relentlessly.
In vain, she shrieks and curses me to leave her
but we both know I’m an obsessive songsmith
with an agenda:
I want to tune that off-key flute
she’s been hiding inside her bedroom
since the day she turned sixteen—she
knows I’m her only lover, and I will not
abide by her kind of angry music.
Part of the mosaics cycle of poems
A few words about the poem…
The Obsessive Songsmith | A Toxic Love Poem
In the surreal poem "I Will Always be her Lover," from the series Toxic Love, the narrator delves into the intricacies of a relationship existing within the realms of a twisted mind. The portrayal of the narrator's presence within the subject's consciousness is marked by a certain inevitability, a consequence of the door left ajar and a casual invitation that reflects the carelessness of youth.
The nocturnal setting, accompanied by the melancholic serenade of a lovelorn owl and the observation of the moonrise over the river, adds a layer of atmospheric depth to the narrative. The introduction of first-time riffs and the imagery of ravens counting banjos in the Poplar Valley evoke a sense of surrealism, contributing to the overall dreamlike quality of the poem.
The narrator's relentless consumption of the subject's thoughts, highlights a certain possessiveness that goes beyond mere infatuation and despite the subject's futile attempts to repel his presence, the narrator sees himself as an obsessive songsmith with a distinct agenda. The agenda however is only revealed as a metaphor in the next stanza leaving the reader to bring his own fantasies to the tale.
The central motif revolves around the desire to tune the off-key flute concealed within the subject's bedroom since her sixteenth year. This metaphorical instrument may represent a part of her identity or emotions that have been hidden or suppressed. The narrator asserts himself as her exclusive lover, unwilling to tolerate the discordant notes of her "angry music."
Kommentarer