Wallpaper
In the new apartment, living alone for the first time
in years, you want to start fresh with the walls,
so you strip off the faded old wallpaper,
only to find another layer beneath,
another under that, & one more
for good measure.
It’s like peeling an onion one layer at a time
and slicing it into rings, each cut
of the knife releasing a spray
that stings your eyes.
It’s like taking off your coat, then your shirt & jeans,
then your underwear & socks, then your
skin, standing there like nothing
but meat & bone.
It’s like with each layer of wallpaper you pull away
another decade of your life, your forties & thirties,
your twenties & teens, & by the end you’re a kid
in the schoolyard playing marbles
in the dirt, waiting for someone
to walk by.
15 thoughts on "Wallpaper"
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each stanza like a layer
where living alone
pulls back a memory
that brings tears,
pulls all the way back
to innocence
really gives the feeling of seeing layer after layer, back in time, and I love the ending
I love how this builds to a simple but profound ending.
Yes !
The way this peels and simultaneously slowly gets down to even peeling away the metaphor is so smooth that we don’t even really notice. This is like a d.n.a. poem winding itself down to the brass tacks.
Great poem !!
Beautiful, Kevin. Such a rich idea — that onion skin — and wonderful execution. Ending is terrific.
I really like the idea of wallpaper (instead of the proverbial onion peeling)—there is also an honest melancholy to this poem
I really like the idea of wallpaper (instead of the proverbial onion peeling)—there is also an honest melancholy to this poem.
Great connection of phases of life and phases of a room. Where we are is who we are in so many ways. Great job!
Agreed with all, Kevin.
Compounds subtly
Love this ending – and you’re a kid playing marbles in the dirt waiting for someone to walk by.
there is a loneliness in the kid waiting for life to begin
I like the awkwardness created with the removal of clothing as it can be awkward to think about your past and the person whom you once were. Great write Kevin!
Wonderful poem. the metaphor of peeling an onion, the reversal of time.
I love how this begins with the desire to start fresh, but it’s not after the process (the important thing!) that that is possible.
Love the way this poem moves, as well as the form of each stanza, winding down time, unraveling all those layers, back to the haunting image of “kid / in the schoolyard playing marbles / in the dirt, waiting for someone to walk by.” That phrase “waiting for someone to walk by” adds an element of longing that is so effective.