Sylvia’s Mother Said

Sylvia’s Mother Said

 

Sylvia’s mother said

Let go and forget him

No way is he worth it

Let go and enjoy being free

 

Sylvia’s mother said

Your babies are hungry

Whatever you do keep them

Safe and away from your poetry

 

Sylvia’s mother said

Both Frieda and Nicholas

Must not be allowed

To go it alone

 

Life should be easier

And more than a gas

When you’re a mother of

Just thirty years old

 

Sylvia’s mother said

Put the pen down now

Come sit by the fire

My word you look cold

 

And the operator says

You don’t have to do this

Don’t cry you don’t have to go it alone

There is never a best way to die

 

 

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

somber tribute sir ... this line "And more than a gas" ... brings so many memories to my mind as "It's a gas!" meant something far different .. the contrast in moods that creates in your poem hits hard for me .. nothing humorous in it at all eh!?
her whole life one of suffering ... and in the end .. no best way indeed .. dead is dead isn't it?! i think the operator line is killer! no need to call the Doctor tho :( nice job of hooking this reader .. somber tribute .. she is an icon to many :(
E.

[Neville]

Thank you Gene... she is indeed an icon and I am certainly one of her fans... the tune crept in and although I am not particularly happy with them, the words kinda just wrote themselves..... There is no feelgood factor here is there.....

Neville

[Einstein Noodle]

no... there really isn't ... that's what impacted me .. fine inspiration says i!

[Neville]

Cheers mate...

[Ted Kniffen]

Desperation can never be measured. We don't know what drives someone to take their own life ... perhaps they don't understand the causes. Sadly a young life cut much too short and children left in the bargain.
She was a troubled soul long before Ted entered her life, but maybe he exacerbated her misery.
Sometimes there seems to be only one way out ... if only "Sylvia's mother" had been able to reach her the outcome may have been different.

Great poem Nev.

[Neville]

You are not alone there Ted but you are much appreciated sir and true ..

:)read more
You are not alone there Ted but you are much appreciated sir and true ..

:)

[Rania M]

This is so sad Neville. You have got her sadness down so perfectly. It must have been quite a battle she fought alone and fought hard before giving up. It must not be easy to give up her babies. We read so much about her yet it’s tough understanding what she went through. I’m sad no one could help her though. She was so young!

[Neville]

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out these words of mine Rania... a much appreciated visit and true.....

Neville :)

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

My poetic emotions have now been compared to Sylvia a few times. If I go before you, you write a poem about me okay? That way I can smile back through the rays of the sun, setting fire to the fields, burning off all the sadness of this ugly world. Thank you for sharing this tribute to a glorious poetess that I aspire to be like~ minus the downfalls of her unkept demons.

[Neville]

Tis a done deal my Queen & no need to ask … She was rather good though wasn't she..

Neville

[barleygirl]

I love your fresh take on the Plath history, since so many here write about her, it's not easy to pick a POV that's stunningly original, but you've done it. I love that you step outside the main characters & think of how it feels from a POV most never mention or think about. That being said, I was also a little interested in how your poem seems to parallel the Dr Hook song "Sylvia's Mother" which also brings an interesting twist to your message & now I see this song in ways I didn't before! (((unplugs))) Fondly, Margie

Sylvia's Mother by Dr Hook
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's busy
Too busy to come to the phone
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's trying
To start a new life of her own
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's happy
So why don't you leave her alone?
And the operator says forty cents more
For the next three minutes

Please, Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I'll only keep her awhile
Please, Mrs. Avery, I just want to tell her goodbye

Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's packing
She's gonna be leaving today
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's marrying
A fella down Galveston way
Sylvia's mother says please don't say nothing
To make her start crying and stay
And the operator says forty cents more
For the next three minutes

Please, Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I'll only keep her awhile
Please, Mrs. Avery, I just want to tell her goodbye

[Neville]

Thanks a million Margie.. they say that truth is stranger than fiction, don't they well .. my daughter was reading to me from SP's 'Collected Poems' when Dr' Hooks Sylvia's Mother sprang to mind.. and which served as part inspiration for these words..... there.. that's my 40cents worth of background info.. but keep it to ya self now :) (DIMEs) fondly,

Neville

[barleygirl]

Your daughter reading poetry to you is an image that will never fade from my mind . . . you are such a blessed man!

[Neville]

He knows it, he just don't let on..... :) x

[Beccy]

Her poem 'Daddy,' was a final cry for help. It went unanswered, as do so many such cries.

She was like a wounded bird, needed tenderness, not disregard; and mother always knows best, doesn't she.

Beccy.

[Neville]

absolutely write... cheers Beccy.

Neville

[Relic]

I didn't get it at first. I'm familiar with the song and that threw me off. Now I see and it stands out big time. I find it odd that such an intelligent girl would kill herself like that despite such troubles. If only she could talk. Perhaps poetry kept her alive for a spell before she did herself in. I guess we'll never know.

[Neville]

thanking you kindly for visiting these words my friend... much appreciated and truly .. Neville

[Lorry]

If only she listened to ber mum, they alwaysknow best, at least if you are honest with them and don't holdback for fearof burdening them.
Really love that line about keeping her kids from poetry, reminiscent of the just say no campaign to keep kids from drugs... But we don't listen as kids and by thirty think we know better. If only should have been Sylvia's epitaph, if only she listened... Ifonly not him... If only if only if only.
Just re-read Ariel a while back and your words here summed up the sigh released upon closing the book Neville.
Like this a lot, no like this manymegamuch. It resonates.

[Neville]

Blimey.. thanks a million Lorry

Cheers mate,

Neville

[Fay Slimm]

These words embody her pain and her ending.......... fused perfectly too with the song - -no one is worth leaving life for yet the awful thing was how she went........... saddest of stories Nev.

[Neville]

thank you Fay... I did not set out to write about SP but have been re-reading her Collected Poems my son bought me a very early copy many years ago... N

[jacob erin-cilberto]

she seemed to think more of which way, not why...Sexton referred to that in her poem..."like Carpenters, they ask, which tools, not why build"-----
I like how you fused her situation with the Dr. Hook song...
Sylvia's too busy to answer the phone...and Sexton referred to her death with the line "the phone left off the hook"
in mid-poetic stride she left us, left her kids...Ted was not worth it...not for a second.
j.

[Neville]

No one is gonna argue with ya Jacob … thanks for showing up to the first showing of Sylvia's Mother which I am as yet not entirely satisfied with.... maybe never will be...

N.

[Eilis]

I love your approach to this. It’s almost like a parable, but sadly we know the end and she’s beyond being reasoned with.

I’ve always found her story so sad. Darkness was deeply ingrained in her, it’s all through every bit of her writing. Seems like she was touched by a cynicism that was too thick to shatter and a despair that no one could temper. When I learned one of her children also later committed suicide I felt such a deep sadness. The cycles of pain keep rolling on from one person to another.

This is an excellent, sensitive poem, but with a touch of something beyond the biographical. It reaches into those dark human places where we all need a reminder that we are not alone.

Great poem, Neville.

[Neville]

Thank you dear Eilis …. what a waste eh... in fact, what a series of wastes..

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Thank you dear Eilis …. what a waste eh... in fact, what a series of wastes..

N.