Anne Sexton – raw emotions under a microscope

Who was Anne Sexton? Who are you? The answer is one and the same. A person, much
like you and I, merely struggling to comprehend and process through all that life has to offer. She
was a very accomplished American author, whose poems have the ability to shake even the worst
of cynics. What made me appreciate her most was the way she dealt with her mental illness and
how she chose to portray it in her work. Many of her poems are heavily influenced by the
hardships she endured as a woman with a mental disorder, and how it impacted her view of the
world. As I read through her work, I felt as though her experiences were my own, even those that
she herself made up. For this reason, I chose to compare two of her poems which spoke to me the
most.
The first poem that piqued my interest is “The Kiss”, a very vivid piece displaying the
raw emotions evoked by a simple kiss, a touch. Love. In comparison to many other poems
written by Anne, this one is lively, full of hope and naivete. Upon reading it, I was overcome by
a feeling of nostalgia, as though I was sixteen again. This poem evokes the exact thrill of being
in love, being pursued and appreciated, while the young mind runs wild with excitement. It is a
phase of life so normal, so talked about, yet so essential. In a way, it serves as a reminder that we
are quite simple beings, all striving for mostly the same objectives. One of the main ones being
just this: love, affection and recognition.
In this poem, the author explains how she felt as though, up until that day, her body was
useless, but in full bloom after the kiss. The imagery she depicts of the old, wooden boat paints a
very clear picture in one’s mind, many of us possibly having felt the same at a certain point.
What mesmerized me was how vividly one can explain something so seemingly common, a
normal occurrence of a human life. And yet, after having read and heard countless love poems
and songs, the feelings they evoke never quite recede. Also, why is it that so many pop love
songs become instant hits? Well, aside from the fact that it is a very easily digestible topic and
one that unites us all, I believe it goes to prove my point that, in the end, it is all that we, as
humans, want for.
Another theme that I found to be of interest in this poem regards the author’s depiction of
feeling stagnant, ancient, even utterly useless before the fated kiss. The author makes it seem as
though nothing she had ever done up to that point mattered or made her feel truly seen. Why
should romance be of the utmost importance, even in the face of humanity’s greatest
achievements? Why is it that secretly, despite each great thing we do, deep down, this is all we
wish for? Again, the answer is within each of us. After every façade is wiped off and all the walls
of our evolved society are brought down, what are we really? The way I see it, despite being at
the top of the food chain and having achieved unthinkable heights, we are still mere animals with
very simple needs. No matter how tall our buildings are, no matter how many fancy suits we own
or how big our salaries are, it will never be enough. If not for the thrill of blinding love and
affection, there will always be a void to fill. This void is of our own creation and we are the ones
who keep impeding ourselves from filling it with each formality and principle we force upon
ourselves.
As such, what happens to the human mind if this fulfilling love is found, only to be
extinguished with the crushing sole of time? In Anne Sexton’s poem “Divorce”, this exact
question is addressed in a most direct and painful manner. She successfully portrayed the
unconquerable battles that one goes through after a flaming love finally dies out. Through this
poem, she conveys the gut-wrenching feeling of loneliness, pure anguish over a lifetime of
memories lost, never to be lived again. As though each compliment never mattered, each hug
nothing but a painful flashback to a period that is lost, burned only into her memory. I chose to
write about this piece because it is a radical contrast to the first one, these two being moments in
time forever etched into our brains. Just like two peas in a pod, these two poems represent
common, everyday events, but written with raw emotion that instills into readers the feeling of
betrayal over a broken pact.
One of the things that intrigued me most about this poem was the amount of very specific
details that the writer put into painting this event with the brightest of colors, despite its tragic
nature. I appreciated the way she remembered “the little words of companionship”, “the thread of
compassion/dear as a strawberry”, the look of her husband dressing early and many other such
loving remarks. She understandably shows unfiltered remorse for the end of a most pleasant
period of her life. This goes to prove that, despite numerous wrongdoings of a loved one, a
separation continues to hurt tremendously.
Weirdly, we tend to appreciate and long for certain people or things only when we cease
to have them. This is almost always the case, because we get used to a certain lifestyle and
routine along the people most dear to us, therefore we forget to appreciate what stands right
under our noses. This routine can easily become boring and repetitive, which is why we are so
blinded by it. Only when parts of this routine are taken away from us, do we realize the
importance of each piece. It is a sad truth, but one that must be admitted sooner rather than later
for the possibility of anything to change. In Anne’s poem, this very concept is well highlighted
by suddenly remembering the small things that made their marriage special, how she would
notice him get dressed in the morning, the way he would polish his shoes on the edge of the bed,
and generally the small things she loved him for.
For these exact reasons, I believe that the poems “The Kiss” and “Divorce”