My poetry in motion poem, “My Words to You” by Jean Valentine was found on the six train. I didn’t really have an initial reaction to the poem even though I came across it numerous of times on my way home. With that being said, this assignment allowed me to analyze what the meaning was. “My words to you are the stitches in a scarf / I don’t want to finish” (Line 1-2). The stitches in the scarf is what keeps the fabric together. The stitches are symbolizing the strength in the bond you and your partner has created. “Maybe it will come to be a blanket / to hold you here” (Line 3-4) represents how you didn’t expect your relationship to get so far but yet it did, so the scarf is no longer just a scarf, you’ve turned the scarf into a blanket. The more time you spend with your partner, the more you grow, the more comfortable you get and you begin to feel at home. “Love not gone anywhere” (Line 5) is basically saying that you made your love go from something small (the stitches in a scarf) to something big (the blanket). You can make it as big as you want but at the end of it all, it will stay with you.
The title of the poem, “My Words to You” brings this feeling of comfort along with the background of the poem. The background gives you this warm fuzzy feeling when you look at it followed by the poem itself. This poem explores the nature of love and what it feels like. As simplistic as it was it was very thorough with the message it wanted to give.
Hey Alexis,
Great post! I really enjoyed your blog and liked the way you went in details when analyzing this poem. It is a very short poem and yet you were able to dissect it and find the true meaning behind it! I completely agree with the way you viewed the poem. “My words to you are stiches in a scarf / I don’t want to finish.” When I think of the word stiches, I think of it as a way of holding something together, so I am glad that you mentioned the word “stitches” symbolizing the bond in a relationship. I would also like to add that many times, relationships last because of the way a couple is able to resist tough times and communication is very important and words can make or break a relationship. You’ve also mentioned that the line “Maybe it will come to be a blanket” means that they scarf have turned into a blanket and related that to the way you can grow with a partner, the more time spent with that person; you couldn’t have said it better. It’s true that many times after years of being with a person, we never thought that after meeting them for a few hours, it would turn into days, months and years. Overall, amazing job! Keep up the good work !