McHugh, Heather. “What He Thought.” Hinge & Sign: Poems 1968-1993. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1994.
I loved the conversational tone of this poem. I can see them perfectly. Intellects sitting around after dinner discussing what makes poetry poetry. In the beginning there is a snobbishness to the language, an air of I Know Better. Yet at the end there is a hint of mistaken identity which peeks through – an apology, mea culpa, my bad. It’s almost like a weak joke with a killer punchline.
Not to spoil the poem, but here’s the line that got me: “poetry is what he thought, but did not say.” How crazy is that? While this poem is in Hinge & Sign you can also read “What He Thought” on Heather’s humorous site.
BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Poetry Pleasers” (p187).
~*LunaSea*~ 