Mermaid Song
for Aya at fifteen Damp-haired from the bath, you drape yourself upside down across the sofa, reading, one hand idly sunk into a bowl of crackers, goldfish with smiles stamped on. I think they are growing gills, swimming up the sweet air to reach you. Small girl, my slim miracle, they multiply. In the black hours when I lie sleepless, near drowning, dread-heavy, your face is the bright lure I look for, love's hook piercing me, hauling me cleanly up. Kim Addonizio’s poem, “Mermaid Song”, is about how her daughter is the very best thing in her life. The poem was written for her daughter, Aya, when Aya was 15. The poem starts out innocently, describing her daughter lounging around the couch eating a snack. “Damp-haired from the bath, you drape yourself upside down across the sofa, reading,” Even though Aya is just laying on the couch and snacking on goldfish crackers, her mother thinks she is almost like an angel. Addonizio calls Aya “my slim miracle”, for the first time inferring to the reader that Aya saved her mother’s life. I think that a shift occurs right before Addonizio starts describing "The black hours," The tone changes from bright and sweet to dark and passionate almost immediately. Addonizio says that at night when she's almost given up hope, “your face is the bright lure I look for, love’s hook piercing me, hauling me cleanly up.” That last line solidifies a mother’s love and how great it can be when it comes to her daughter. In all probability, Addonizio was depressed before Aya’s birth and that all changed once she was born. Aya can be seen as like a fisherman, using her love to reel her depressed mother back to the surface of life. The title “Mermaid Song” also refers to Aya. Mermaids are supposed to be these perfect, magical beings, and to Addonizio, Aya is the perfect being.
6 Comments
Michelle
11/4/2016 05:37:55 am
Lovely analysis! I agree with your thoughts on how the poet views her daughter. Do you think there was any significance to the specific use of goldfish crackers? Why didn't she just say crackers?
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Sarah
11/4/2016 06:45:06 am
She probably used goldfish crackers to play on the water theme she had going on in the poem. Since it compared her daughter to a mermaid, she had to keep up the theme of fishing, water, and fish.
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Nora House
11/4/2016 06:58:15 am
This is a great analysis! You gave excellent background information on what the poem is about, which really helped to explain it.
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DJ from WV!
11/4/2016 07:26:07 am
Sarah, I liked how you gave background information about he poem. Very interesting! I also enjoyed your analysis on the poem. It was very thought out and written well. I enjoyed reading the poem as well. I've never read this one before! Oh and I love Grey's Anatomy also! Best Wishes! -DJ
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Jeremy
11/4/2016 07:49:16 am
Your analysis of this poem is great and only made better by the background information. This was well written and very easy to read, so here's a star ✮.
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SarahI'm an AP English student and high school senior who loves everything about lemons and Grey's Anatomy. This is my blog to talk about literature and everything English. Archives
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