Matt's poems

The Anti Utopian Experience

Speaker addressing reader or character with some urgency, seems disaffected, and then avers that something (the message?) is the anti-utopian experience.

Aggressive, almost hostile tone, perhaps because of the imperatives, or possibly the imagve of crushing the subject's bones with the speaker's words. As a result, to me, the 'we are the anti-love/this is the anti-utopian experience' seems like the menacing mesage of some sort of sinister underground society. Also, for some reason I really connected with the lines "back away from the hollywood/it is a deadly weapon." I've sort of been contemplating the television/film industry as a mechanism of promoting impossible dreams that make it difficult to obtain happiness. I have one big question -- 'this' is referred to several times in the poem, once in each stanza actually: 'this is of the utmost importance,' 'this wasn't the purpose,' 'this is in our best interest,' 'this is the anti-utopian experience.' It seems pressing to discern what exactly 'this' is -- the poem? The message of the poem? But I don't feel like I was given any hints. Nonetheless, I was intriguied by the poem.


Madmans Lullabye

Possibly the dyspeptic ranting of a madman in a nightmarish dystopia, or downtrodden response to modern life.

I am possibly because of the Big Brother reference totally envisioning the setting of this poem as the filmic 1984. I found some vivid images in this poem, the first stanza with the sheep 'all caught on the fence,' as if in midjump, though i might have liked 'riding the fence' better, to reference the colloquialism. Also 'if I was able to unclench my fist/ I would dig myself out of the hole.' I like the unexpected juxtaposition of 'counted' to 'slaughtered.' And I like slaughter as a vivid word. I felt that both poems had strong endings, as well.