poemranker ::Pledge by http://mulberryfairy

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Free verse № 136459

Pledge

by http://mulberryfairy

Member since 2003 · Posted 8 Jan 2006 · 9 comments

I pledge to withhold information about my personal life however therapeutic it might be (to me). It might be harmful or boring to my audience. I will bind my mouth, my fingers, my toes to bar self disclosure from this civilized poem, unless I believe that you will benefit from hearing of my slow journey through non-metaphorical pain and bad luck. If my audience believe that some bit of therapy slips into my poem like a well dressed prison fugitive, I will refer adamantly to the fictive narrator because “I” and I are not synonymous. We will never share the title, “I”, again. That whiff you thought was me will dissolve into fiction, permanently until there are no hints of “me” left to confuse "my" dear audience.

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9 comments

[8] INTRANSIT 8-Jan-06/9:03 AM Reply
I don't wanna hear it.
[8] zodiac 8-Jan-06/12:51 PM Reply
As far as I can tell, the American condition is hurrying from cocktail party to cocktail party, desperately waiting for someone to turn to us and say, "No, really, who ARE you - REALLY?" and being far too self-obsessed to ever ask anyone that ourselves. If we're ever lucky enough to be asked, we'll immediately lie or run away.
[n/a] http://mulberryfairy › zodiac 8-Jan-06/6:14 PM Reply
Alas, I am the asker- a social worker, no less.
[8] zodiac › http://mulberryfairy 8-Jan-06/7:07 PM Reply
No, who are you... REALLY?
[9] Dovina 8-Jan-06/4:04 PM Reply
This is a comical turn on what we all do as writers. I laughed at myself, and that makes it a therapeutic read.
[8] lmp 9-Jan-06/11:13 AM Reply
i always wondered, who offers therapy to the therapist? i mean, some of the disturbing stuff that one may hear in a session, although clinically is not supposed to stick, does. and if the therapist is in a por mental health state, that would be dangerous...

interesting piece on what i presume to be your work. must be frustrating to split off from yourself like that, but a neccessity at the same time.
[9] <~> 10-Jan-06/9:19 AM Reply
you made me laugh with this one. and you made me ask myself who i am, damn you.
[9] Scarlett 26-Mar-06/9:39 AM Reply
I found this poem quite fascinating ~ to watch the “me” and “I” disappear, finding a hollow place to hide the emotions and personal experiences.

Also enjoyed reading your response ~ one of my majors back in college years was sociology and I considered the field… but part of what you wrote, the secondary traumatic stress disorder ~ it does take a thick skin and a special person to not internalize the abuse, yet be there for the person. Kudos to you for your chosen career.
[10] abecedarian 23-Aug-07/8:38 PM Reply
"I" absolutely adore this poem!