Written Commentary - One Flesh

The first 200 words of this essay...

This poem is, as suggested by the title 'one flesh', about marriage. One flesh is a reference to marriage in the bible, where two become one. The poem is written in a first person point of view, with the poet writing about her parent's marriage.

The first line of the poem gives us a feel that the poet's parents have grown physically apart, as 'lying apart now, each in a separate bed' suggests. However, the phrase 'lying apart now' tells us that the poet's parents did not use to be so far apart and were once close to each other.

The following lines tell us what the poet's parents are doing (He with a book, keeping the light on late, she like a girl dreaming of childhood). This shows they both do not seem to notice the other party's presence around them and are engaged in their own activity. The poet's mother is dreaming about childhood where all men are elsewhere, suggesting that she does not care about physical relationships any longer.

The poet then tells us that 'it is as if they (the parents) wait, some new event', telling us that