Poetry Friday - Between flippancy and neurosis
Today, I have another poem by Sophie Hannah, which is perhaps also aimed at single women (then I'm going to stop with those, I promise). She's very good at articulating certain ways of things.
The Answer
Why do you give the impression that you’d rather
not be loved? You almost tell people not to bother.
Why are you neither one thing nor the other?
Why do you fluctuate between ticks and crosses,
alternate between flippancy and neurosis?
Won’t you confirm or contradict my guesses?
What is it that you do, by simply sitting
with your elbows raised, that makes me sick of waiting?
Why is your absence tantamount to cheating?
I know you’re real, which means you must pay taxes,
catch colds and snore. I know you know what sex is.
Still, there is something in you that never mixes,
something that smells like the air in silver boxes.
It makes me suddenly afraid of asking,
Suddenly sure of all the things I’m risking.
Sophie Hannah
Picture from www.worth1000.com