insanity thy middle name be love

The only thing that seemed odd, to an old dame like me, was the Hun it doesn't seem to me to be a poetic word, or want to be in this poem, I know some of you use it in your everyday language, but that's just old me codgering!!! It would fit with more of its kind taking part perhaps. Yours Ann of Norway P.S. The first word YOU'RE is not your, short for you are.

Really loved it! Dina

I think that this is a terrific poem. It is honest and well engineered. It is bold: which is to say it takes risks, which I have always felt is the mark of the best poetry. And it has a coherent message: An "ounce of prevention" to avoid the "somebody did somebody wrong song." It has a constant gate: there is no drop-off in the middle or end. It is solid from a prospective of contemporary culture on the topic of relationships. But relationships don't really work by the standards articulated by contemporary culture. Most songs, poems, movies, TV, radio, or what have you, have us seeking that "one" love. They tell us men are from Mars and women are from Venus. The genders just can't understand each other. At the same time, contemporary culture has no problem with serial bigamy. It is a confusing presentation at the best of times. An expletive would go well about here. "Dangnabit!" The reason for the importance of sex, in addition to testosterone and reproduction and the primitive brain at the top of our spine, is that it provides affirmation as to who we are, a confirmation of our worthiness to be a recipient of that highest form of intimacy, love, safety by virtue of an apparent ally and implied trust of best efforts. These values interrelate and are not gender specific. And it is the failure of hopes for the attainment of these things that lies so much at the heart of failed romance. Interestingly, religions key on these factors. Whether you pick Christianity, Judaism, Islam or most other faith based cultures, they target messages of affirmation, worthiness, paths to safety and trust. The headings under which interpersonal relationships are said to disintegrate, being money, sex, and fidelity, all obtain their importance as approximations of affirmation, worthiness, safety and trust. I would go so far as to say, that breaches in the approximations of these four values are not very important so long as the values themselves remain intact. Thus, while the courts argue that justice must "seem" to be done, in relationships the more fundamental bedrock is what "actual" justice is done. Madison Avenue always knows the value of a good line but if affirmation, worthiness, safety and trust are real then the appearances have less sway. Once we are talking of community, then whole dimensions shift. Appearances now take on the Madison Avenue and court-like importances, because everyone is hyper-safety conscious respecting third parties, and measures potential treats based on what is observable (particularly what wrongs might be being done by somebody to somebody but not to the observer). In fact, the whole notion of criminal acts enters through this door. We do not ask the victims if they wish to prosecute someone who has committed a breach of etiquette qualifying as criminal. The victim's feelings may well be further infringed by a prosecution because the act in question affects the sense of safety of the whole community. And once we're beyond two people in conversation, we also enter the new frontier of dysfunctional triangles, which I will not detail here due to the long-windedness of any explanation (yes, even compared to what is already here). I would be interested to discuss why it is absolutely necessary to have some, I say again, some stress (as in challenge) to these values, but I'm probably pressing my luck in the length of this discourse already. One could say, that poetry is more like religion than a relationship, insofaras it typically involves more than two persons. It can, of course, pretend not to have an audience, in which case, the values which underlie a truly romantic poem are affirmation, worthiness, safety and trust, or their breach; some of which are addressed here. Overall, I think the poem is very well done, accurate within the context of the observer and really very interesting to read. In fact, Jayne-Chloe, despite all the above, I think it is one of your best. Affectionately, Brian

rhythm and rhyme divine <3

She sounds like a Harpie straight from Hell! I hope it all worked out okay in the end. Good title and clever rhyming scheme all flowing well. Loved the imagery and word choices! Love, Cat

congrats on hitting spotlight with this clever piece, it is well thought out and I absolutely adore your last line. Please check l.12 ("didn't you hear the words she said?"), l.22 ("when she's around") and l.37 ("it's just that") for typos again. Yours, ~Nina

"Pull yourself back watch what you do, she ripped your heart out did hand it to you Grabbing your hair kicking your head, didn’t you hear the words she said? " in other words....DONT fuck with the missus !!!...she wears the pants in the relaionship XD haha love it mum...another fact to be added to the list of proofs of how talented u is...keep it up n dont ever stop !!!

I thought this poem to be very good, the line, did you not hear what she just said, it is so true..... I have known people like this, but also like you said there are two sides of the story..... When I got to the part about wiping your tears with a knife I was laughing.... I know that sounds weird, but hey it was funny...... Patty

I am enthralled by your depiction of human relationships - their trials and tribulations! Well done! Bonita