Pigeonholed
The box they shove her in is small and dark.
It skews all views and leaves her little space
For launching thoughts that rise with daybreak’s lark.
Dawn’s rays no longer shine upon her face.
They say this box is where her ilk belongs –
It helps the fickle flocks to understand.
The tempo, taste, and timbre of her songs
Are branded by an iron-heavy hand:
A wail the waxing moon has heard before.
A chorus of conspiracy and jest.
A noise among the voices to ignore.
Her rebel beat has hexed their crooked quest –
And still they’re heard (the whisper of her words)
By those who prize the unbound wings of birds.
Blurt!
—a pantoum
The tongue that dared question is still.
The mouth that once shot off is shut.
The truth is unlikely to spill
In times of no if and no but.
The mouth that once shot off is shut
On deeds spreading death and dismay.
In times of no if and no but
There’s nothing worth saying to say.
For deeds spreading death and dismay
No turbulent words are in reach.
There’s nothing worth saying to say
When demons have demonized speech.
When turbulent words aren’t in reach
The truth is unlikely to spill.
When demons have demonized speech
No questioning tongue dare be still.
previously published in Snakeskin
Susan Jarvis Bryant is a poet originally from the U.K., now living on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Two wonderful poems about the price that many Iranians of both sexes have paid for freedom.
“Pigeonholed” is remarkable for its force and pathos. Speaking of an executed woman as if we were inside her coffin is powerfully arresting and gripping, and the horror of it leads to that smashing closure: :”the unbound wings of birds.” As for the title “Pigeonholed,” it sends an involuntary shudder down the reader’s back. The alliteration in this poem is strong (as is usually the case with Susan) but the sheer emotional force of the poem’s words makes one glide past it without the slightest pause.
“Blurt” continues the same subject, but is more discursive and meditative, as if it were a kind of colophon to the first poem. And I was bowled over by two instances of polyptoton (“demons have demonized” and “saying to say”).
Joe, thank you very much for your appreciative and heart-touching comment. I am particularly moved by your take on “Pigeonholed” – my heart aches for the women of Iran crushed and killed by an evil regime that sickens me. And you’re right, “Iranians of both sexes have paid for freedom.”
Your educational and encouraging comment on “Blurt” has thrilled me. I had no idea what a “polyptoton” was until now, and I am over the moon to have a new word to delight me. Thank you!
Susan,
Great pair, but the second speaks loudest, in words that traverse from sinister outcome to warning prediction. “When demons have demonized speech, No questioning tongue dare be still.” Deep stuff, there. Thank you.
Dusty, thank you very much for reading my poems and for the great comment. “Blurt!” was written as a warning prediction… it’s too late to ignore what’s in front of our noses any longer. I believe our reason for being is to Blurt, as and when necessary.
Susan, on a day when I just read in the news Canada lawmakers passed a law against speaking of God and the Bible in public and criminalizing it these two poems hit home. You know by now in what high “regard I regard” your poetry. (Meant to mimic your wonderful use of two base words in a phrase.) I love the concept and have used that approach in a couple of my recent poems.
The trouble in Canada is that the nation has no intellectual antibodies at all against the serious bacterial infection called left-liberalism. That’s why (with a few prominent and articulate exceptions) nobody up there seems to be waging war against totalitarian madness like this the new “law”.
Joe, this evil has spread across the globe at an alarming rate. Too many are willing to accept the unacceptable.
Roy, thank you very much for your kind and encouraging comment. I am so sad to hear of the iron-fists of Canadian tyrants coming down on their people. In the U.K. the government are at the thought-crime level… those praying silently outside abortion clinics face arrest. I’ve heard news of the police being reined in on Facebook “hate crimes” – really?! Time will tell.
A call for freedom, beautifully expressed. In the pantoum, I love the way you’ve varied the final line (which echoes the first line) to drive home the meaning. I also love the line “There’s nothing worth saying to say.”
Cynthia, I thoroughly appreciate your fine eye and your encouraging words. I have come to love pantoums for their repetition. Some things need saying more than once. Thank you very much!
Very beautiful, very relevant poems, Susan: and your use of form gives a cutting edge precision to what is passionate invective. I’ve said before, and will say again, your poems should be taught in schools, not only for the learning of forms, but also as an antidote to all those idiots who seem to think that the Iranian regime is anything other than evil – and a deadly enemy to the West.
James, thank you so very much for your wonderful comment. I love your idea of my poems being taught in schools, but I have a feeling it would cost the authorities far too much. I am certain this could only be achieved with the aid of a wagon load of gossamer-furred, pygmy therapy goats, and they don’t come cheap.
Both poems are exceptional, Susan — in “Blurt!” I’m especially taken by that line “when demons have demonized speech.” So true. But it’s “Pigeonholed” which has me absolutely both moved and mesmerized. The box is such a deep metaphor — it could be a coffin, it could be a prison cell, it could simply be the “pigeonhole” that the subject has been confined to by society. But there is a palpable grief in the language and the idea of the subject’s voice being stifled. I am especially moved by the defiant lines, “And still they’re heard (the whisper of her words)/By those who prize the unbound wings of birds.” I am much reminded of the beautiful Maya Angelou poem “Caged Bird,” though I’m quite sure I prefer yours. I think the idea of someone’s voice being silenced or kept in check must be one of the most important themes in literature, from Ovid to Portia to Jane Eyre to Solzhenitsyn and up to the cancel culture of the present.
Brian, thank you for your encouraging comment, and your fine eye which always manages to see beyond the surface level of my poetry. I wanted the poem to speak for and to all women whose lives have been lost to or silenced by those who have no respect for liberty and humanity. Joe pointed out it isn’t just women, and he is spot on. I have written and will continue to write about all victims of oppression. Men have been mocked, emasculated, and undervalued for far too long. But of late, I have been moved by women in particular, because I am one, and I feel close to the plight of those whose voices are not valued or even considered dangerous in a world where the word “woman” has no firm definition unless, of course, it’s convenient for pigeonholing purposes… and that pigeonhole is dark and deep. Brian you are so right when you say: “the idea of someone’s voice being silenced or kept in check must be one of the most important themes in literature.” – may this theme continue long into the future. Thanks again!
Who better to opine the muzzling those expressively-imprisoned in male dominated regimes like Iran and China than you, Susan – an indictment, conviction, and sentencing in metered rhyme. Bless you for this pair of powerful pieces reminding us of how good we have it here in the U.S.
Mark, thank you very much for your kind words. I hope with all my heart all men, women, and children worldwide who are suffering under the iron-fist of tyranny are soon free.
Thank you Susan, for these two incredible and pertinent poems on the suffering and execution of these Iranian women for thinking crimes.
Norma, it’s always lovely to receive a comment from you. Thank you so much!
Re Pigeonholed
We are all happy that your voice carries here and is not lost to some dark box. The “box” isn’t a physical confinement, it’s social and intellectual. I’ve noticed that most of your poems have internal rhymes that make it fun to read and “It skews all views” is an SJB hallmark. My favorite line was: “A wail the waxing moon has heard before.” It’s a haunting line that illustrates it’s not a new problem, and that only something that can’t fix it is hearing the cries. As a father of daughters, this one will stick with me.
Re Blurt!
The repetition builds pressure instead of feeling repetitive. Lines like “The mouth that once shot off is shut” and “There’s nothing worth saying to say” hit harder each time they return. I especially liked “When demons have demonized speech,” which captures the central idea in a sharp and memorable way. The structure and message work together here. Keep up the great work!
Michael, I thoroughly appreciate your close reading and your interpretation of both poems. You have picked up on the core meanings and I am so glad you enjoyed them. Life’s not easy today. It’s a far more chaotic and complex world than it was just a decade ago, and I believe it’s our job to speak for up for the vulnerable. Your girls are so fortunate to have a caring father looking out for them… a rare gift in these times.
I really had fun with “Blurt!”, especially “The mouth that once shot off is shut” – those sibilant shush sounds I chose to highlight the message. I know you revel in the musicality of language, so your words mean a lot. Thank you very much indeed!
The Mullahs should all be made to wear spacesuits at all times, and then be frog-marched to the rim of an active volcano. Unfortunately, among the tens of thousands of Iranians mowed down were likely a large number of the most zealous freedom-cravers. Do you have Islamist colonies cropping up in your part of Texas yet, or is that so far only happening farther west? No beekeeper costumes permitted!
C.B., I had to sit quietly and breathe deeply after reading your comment – the “beekeeper costumes” set my brain buzzing and sent me to alien lands of marching frogs, milk, honey, and cuckoos. I’m back now, and yes, we do have Islamist colonies in Texas. One in Houston and one in Dallas. Texas is changing… fast. Thank you for reading my poem and for commenting. You never fail to engage a curious part of my brain I didn’t know existed before joining the SCP, and for that I am most grateful… I think.