Duke English Majors present: "Shelter in Poetry,” a series dedicated to sharing some of our favorite poems as we shelter in place. Here we join the efforts of @williamsenglishdepartment and the Academy of American Poets (#shelterinpoems), among others, to bring solace and solidarity to these uncertain times.
Julie Peng '21
English, History
by Sylvia Plath
What a thrill -
My thumb instead of an onion.
The top quite gone
Except for a sort of hinge
Of skin,
A flap like a hat,
Dead white.
Then that red plush.
Little pilgrim,
The Indian's axed your scalp.
Your turkey wattle
Carpet rolls
Straight from the heart.
I step on it,
Clutching my bottle
Of pink fizz. A celebration, this is.
Out of a gap
A million soldiers run,
Redcoats, every one.
Whose side are they on?
O my
Homunculus, I am ill.
I have taken a pill to kill
The thin
Papery feeling.
Saboteur,
Kamikaze man -
The stain on your
Gauze Ku Klux Klan
Babushka
Darkens and tarnishes and when
The balled
Pulp of your heart
Confronts its small
Mill of silence
How you jump -
Trepanned veteran,
Dirty girl,
Thumb stump.
* If you would like to share a video for this series please upload your video here and include your name, class year, major, and title of work you are reading. Faculty and staff please include your name, title/position, department, and title of work you are reading.
