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The Resistance
There’s something in the way you hear
__My meanings when I speak;
It draws me dangerously near,
__Makes my defenses weak.
There’s understanding in your eyes
__That shakes me with each glance;
It strips my soul of all disguise
__And leaves me with no chance.
Your gaze is like an ocean vast,
__Your arms, the outstretched shore;
My anchor there I long to cast,
__Encompassed evermore.
There’s such a force in being known—
__I bow at its insistence,
But reason wakens with a groan,
__And musters my resistance.
This undertow has sucked me in,
__But I fight breathlessly.
I cannot, must not let it win—
__There is no you and me.
Perhaps some other lifetime, dear,
__We might have found our place,
But, now abreast the tide, it’s clear:
__I must forget your face.
Pride, prudence, and propriety
__Build up a sturdy wall
Which, near-transparent though it be,
__May never, never fall.
I turn my back to you and flee…
__Alas, so ends it all.
.
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Surrender
I strive in vain to stay the turbid swell
now rising, pulsing, roaring as a flood,
evicting reason—gravity as well.
Extreme and wild it surges through my blood;
on, on it goes, typhoon and raging fire,
remorseless, riotous and ravenous:
a seed of thought, full-grown to deep desire,
bewilders all attempts its power to truss—
laughs at the feeble chains, and I confess,
eternally it shall my soul possess.
.
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A Pennsylvania native now residing in Colorado, Anna J. Arredondo is an engineer by education, a home educator by choice, and by preference, a poet. She also has poems published (or forthcoming) in The Lyric, Time of Singing, Light, Blue Unicorn, Better Than Starbucks, and WestWard Quarterly.
These are two nice poems illustrating internal struggle — the first about a woman fighting off the strong temptation to let herself be seduced, and the second a more general description of powerful impulses that the speaker can barely keep under control. Putting them together as “Resistance” and “Surrender” suggests that the struggle is continuous and ongoing, with the outcome in doubt.
I am left with my question in the first poem of why resist such a person. It seems as though the attraction is powerful. Was one of them married? Was the person not good looking? Was the timing wrong? Was the reputation warped? If nothing else, this poem is very well written and causes reflection! It seems something was lacking in the first poem, but in “Surrender” emotions were overwhelming. I love the pairing of the two poems.
Anna – my reaction to these poems is about the same as Joe’s. Really fine work. I especially liked the line “There’s such a force in being known.” Wow! Thanks for sharing.
Resistance is useless … maybe not! I read this poem as a fear of rejection or commitment leading the narrator to leggit.
Enjoyed both.
As always, thanks for the reads, Anna.
Anna, I love these beautifully crafted poems that let me know that love isn’t merely a legal document. It’s emblazoned on our hearts and surges through our blood as a force of nature to be reckoned with. Resistance is futile. One must surrender! A superb pair of impassioned and passionate poems. Thank you.
I really enjoyed these two poems. Thank you Anna.
“There’s such a force in being known.” I had a too-infrequent meeting with my best friend yesterday, and we spoke of various other persons who have (or have had) a considerable part in our lives. Your poem, Anna, applies–which means that it has the virtue of wide appeal beyond the imagined picture of a particular situation.
These poems make a nice pair together, and I can personally relate to both of them. Great job!
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. They are much appreciated. I deliberately paired these poems to play off of each other, so I am especially pleased that many of you liked the pairing. Thank you!
Anna, thank you for this. Your poem brought to mind a very deep relationship I had to walk away from. It was very painful, but there were too many pressures, unrepentant pressures* in all the wrong directions and I had to walk away. Your poem calls back the pain of that decision, now almost exactly one year ago, still haunting me, but still right.
*secretive hate of my kids and pressure to leave them by degrees, her faith in Yogananda and I a Christian… Ay!
Thank you again for the read. Through the hauntingness, I hear the craft.
Thank you for these two beautiful and touching poems, Anna. ‘The Resistance’ hit me right at the core, especially because of the way it ends. Its final stanza is a fine example of what a perfect marriage between words and their form looks like and what it can do to a reader’s heart. I was seriously not expecting it to have a different structure. I absolutely loved it!
Strong emotions! Anna, L.
As Ben Jonson, Shakespeare’s mate, once observed: “language most shows a man: speak that I may see thee”. Woman too! Love the pulsing, throbbing woman in all this – what red-blooded male wouldn’t? Ha ha ha! Fabulous writing!