Hi, saore,
I get the feeling, at least from the first strophe, that you read a lot of post-modernists works.
QUOTE
Each new blow
shoved me closer
to the guillotine of silence
I've taken these three lines together because this seems to be the first complete image offered. The story seems to be about an abusive relationship, steadily deteriorating but that 'guillotine
of silence' is a bit confusing. Guillotines and silence are associated with death, so is that your way of expressing that fear, that the violence will have fatal results? Strophe 2 would suggest not, unless there is a strong death wish. I think it's more likely to be a reference to the relationship ending; the guillotine in Politics being referenced where debate is cut short? Perhaps, but I think it's your idea of a clever way of saying 'leaving you' - if that's the case, then 'of silence is not needed, it's over-egging the pudding imo.
QUOTE
my dream shot
between my legs,
our bed vanished.
Another convoluted image, does this just mean that the love/lust has gone out of the relationship? That would explain 'our bed' no longer existing.
QUOTE
Dawn reverted
to a stranglehold
perhaps
I've had several discussions with post-modernists and these lines really meet their mantra that 'confusion is the new communication' - I've never been able to convince them to see the oxymoron in that. How can dawn revert? Is this an acknowledgement that life wasn't perfect before this relationship? You can't go on, but there's not a lot of optimism left? Then there's the stranglehold image, this would seem to support the idea of a bad history and of course it reinforces the violence shown in the first line but why tie it to dawn? Is there no sense of choice, no optimism of the new day? Was there never any such? I don't know, it's guess work at best. Then 'perhaps' - I note you describe this as the centrepoint of this piece but I'm blowed if I can see how. Had you used 'strangled' or even 'strangulated' it would have strengthened the uncertainty that image I think I can see in these lines but I suspect it's simply put in there to confuse.
QUOTE
and when nothing
but a definite good-bye
remained, I squatted
and piss inside
your shoes.
Strophe 2 is a completely different animal, good clear images and a wonderful assertion of independence to close, though you have to make the verb tenses agree - ie 'pissed and squatted'
or 'piss and squat'.
My advice would be to lose the first strophe completely - there is very little reward for a lot of work - retitle this 'Guillotine' and go with strophe 2 on its own. Just my opinions of course, yours to use or lose,
Jim