Ring the Bell, Alexander!

These are some of my earliest lyrics.

A dull ache that numbs my mind
The slippery edge of reality has cut me
Exhausted from the clinging
Hands pulsate with raw, swollen bruises
 
But you, blissfully reclining
You remind me of something
You remind me of someone
Someone who isn't left hanging
 
I sing and I dance for distraction
Anything to drown out the hum-mm-mm
Beads of sweat appear on my face
The effort has found me weak as a reed in the wind
 
But you, peacefully asleep, sit by
You don't even watch me cry
You sleep as I wonder why...
You awake to find me hanging
 
No one to answer this call
And in a din of misery and sorrow
Caged in this plastic repose
You slept through it all!

Author's Note

What do you think this song is about? I know, but I wonder if you get the joke. Originally there was a line that was a bit too morbid and depressing and it used to throw people off, so I changed it to, "You sleep as I wonder why..." Please help me change that line if you have any suggestions.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

it sounds as if the speaker is mourning the death of someone close...the phone keeps ringing because the deceased cannot answer it...

reminds me of line in a Sexton poem she wrote about Plath..."the phone carelessly left off the hook"

as if Plath was distracted or taken in the middle of something...and the receiver was just lying there.

life often gives us a busy signal...or a disconnect...and it is hard for those who suffer the loss.

jacob

[Robert Tusitala O'Neill]

Wow, I actually like your take on this poem better than my own, which makes me glad I asked the question!! I have suffered that loss, not just the relatively recent loss of my father, but also more symbolically losing touch with many I have loved. I appreciate your seeing that in this poem, because I hadn't!! Thanks, Jacob!

[Tina Louise UK]

To me this reminded me of a breakup and the pain it brings..especially while the other goes on living while you are suffering. Like they do not give you a second thought...I could relate to this, excellent piece :) x

[Robert Tusitala O'Neill]

Thank you so much!! This has a perspective that is hidden though...I wonder if you can find it. It is hard to get, but I think it adds just a little bit more to the meaning of it. Part of why it is hard to figure out is that my writing at this point was not particularly developed. Also, I can't read this without hearing in my head how it sounds being sung. I wonder what it sounds like to you without the music in your head...

[Robert Tusitala O'Neill]

Can you guess who Alexander is?!

[Tina Louise UK]

The title itself seems like a play on words, Alexander Bell, Ring..telephone..clever...is it you trying to get through to someone..

[Robert Tusitala O'Neill]

AH! Yes!!! You win!!! It is actually me writing from the perspective of staring at a phone, waiting on someone to call. By the time they call I am not there. I never settled on why. At one point it was suicide, at another it was just that I it was too late...Unfortunately suicide seemed to fit best as a dramatic element, but it was too morose. I was steered toward suicide as just the play on words "hanging" and "hanging on the telephone." I was also picturing a phone on the wall. Thank you for getting it!

[Tina Louise UK]

It is so easy to see when you know...told you I'm not too bright but I get there in the end lol