The Friday Poem on 05/11/21
We chose Coda by Rory Waterman for The Friday Poem because it demonstrates such technical precision and because, in just five couplets, it succeeds in diving us deep into a horrifying world. The tightness of the form and neatly crafted internal and end rhyme all serve to underline the rigid and controlling nature of the narrator; form and content work together to create a nightmarish atmosphere.
Coda
Consider, darling: one day, there will be
a bedroom in the loft, a baby boy
to fill it, and we’ll kiss on sun-kissed sand
in every paradise we dreamed about
before you changed — when I’d first take you out.
I understand you don’t mean to destroy
that with your moods. But love, you have to trust me:
we’ll be the perfect pair, love. Understand
that you’ll forget today, me fondling your hair
to throw you, blubbing, face-down at a chair.
