Stranger Again

I think this is one of my favourite poems. Writing a poem in a group of people that might be read out on the day is a bit like saying to everyone ‘let’s everyone get up and dance in front of each other, and it’s always scary to do that.’ And people become a little bit reserved. And when they know that what they write is going to be revealed they hold back and they sometimes easy things or safe things. I felt like this poem was really brave, not brave, honest. It really speaks to me of a time in everyone’s life when for the first time they realise that the thing that they thought they were going to get back was not going to happen. It’s a really sad poem, but it feels like, someone said to be recently a good poem is like a relief so when I read this poem I feel seen in that feeling that I had once of feeling like a stranger again. I think sometimes a good poem says ‘we’ve all been there, haven’t we.’ And you did a great job of this.

There was a really nice thing that you did, you know those really subtle things that feels very natural. ‘Suddenly it turned so dark, I hadn’t expected such a rapid change, Whatever I tried it just wouldn’t slide, and before I knew it I was just a stranger again.’ So that lovely relationship between rapid change and stranger again, and ‘whenever I tried it just wouldn’t slide.’ Lovely assonance there the ‘I’ sound in tried and slide, and change and again. It’s just a really nice poem. They say in a good poem you should step off lightly, and you did that at the end. We don’t get full resolution, we just get that feeling. Sometimes a good poem is just about making us feel something and you definitely achieved that. Nice job Thomas.