EMBRACE.

You know the parlor trick.
wrap your arms around your own body
and from the back it looks like
someone is embracing you
her hands grasping your shirt
her fingernails teasing your neck
from the front it is another story
you never looked so alone
your crossed elbows and screwy grin
you could be waiting for a tailor
to fit you with a straight jacket
one that would hold you really tight.

- Billy Collins

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My interpretation of this poem is a cry for help. This man is so lonely he looses all hope and decides to seek the affection from himself. I also interpret it from the perspective that it’s the consequences society has on us. If we don’t fit into the “norms” and “ways” of living we end up being “different” and left alone, hopeless and seeking affection from ourselves. Considering it’s all we have.

The title alone puts the reader up for a disappointing surprise, seeing “Embrace” makes one think “here goes a romantic story” but actually it weighs on more on the lonely and sad side. It can be argued that Billy Collins encourages his readers to read the poem as it is and not try to read in between the “none existent” lines, however in my opinion this poem encourages the readers to seek deeper meaning as they are in search for answers to “why do we do that? Hug ourselves.”

What is your interpretation?

                                             Dina Diallo