Thursday, February 27, 2014

Nikki Giovanni poem #8

                    Balances

In life
one is always
balancing

like we juggle our mothers
against our fathers

or one teacher
against another
(only to balance our grade average)

3 grains of salt
to one ounce truth

our sweet black essence
or the funky honkies down the street

and lately i've begun wondering
if you're trying to tell me something

we used to talk all night
and do things alone together

and i've begun

(as a reaction to a feeling)
to balance
the pleasure of loneliness
against the pain
of loving you

I'd say the theme is love and its imperfections. The poet knows the love they now share with their significant other is becoming harder and harder to sustain. It is not easy loving someone who also causes you pain. Being separate is now less painful than being together. The balance is out when loneliness is pleasurable and love is painful.
      

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