Suburban Sonnet Lyrics
She practises a fugue, though it can matter
to no one now if she plays well or not.
Beside her on the floor two children chatter,
then scream and fight. She hushes them. A pot
boils over. As she rushes to the stove
too late, a wave of nausea overpowers
subject and counter-subject. Zest and love
drain out with soapy water as she scours
the crusted milk. Her veins ache. Once she played
for Rubinstein, who yawned. The children caper
round a sprung mousetrap where a mouse lies dead.
When the soft corpse won't move they seem afraid.
She comforts them; and wraps it in a paper
featuring: Tasty dishes from stale bread.
to no one now if she plays well or not.
Beside her on the floor two children chatter,
then scream and fight. She hushes them. A pot
boils over. As she rushes to the stove
too late, a wave of nausea overpowers
subject and counter-subject. Zest and love
drain out with soapy water as she scours
the crusted milk. Her veins ache. Once she played
for Rubinstein, who yawned. The children caper
round a sprung mousetrap where a mouse lies dead.
When the soft corpse won't move they seem afraid.
She comforts them; and wraps it in a paper
featuring: Tasty dishes from stale bread.
About
Genius Annotation
Suburban Sonnet is a poem that was written by the critically acclaimed Australian poet, Gwen Hardwood. Harwood’s poetry has recurring themes of motherhood and the stifled role of women, particularly those of young mothers and Suburban Sonnet is no exception to this.
This sonnet tells the story of a woman who is trapped in the suburban life. Her true passion is music (which is a recurring motif in her works) but she as a suburban mother, she has been forced to put this aside.
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