Question

I need to survey some interpretations of this poem and write an essay on it so folks what do you make of this...


Now that we are married
I am holding my
breath while you swim
because I learned this trick

where I hold my breath
while you swim.
I am sewing

sundresses all day and for
whom? Please, give me
a hint or I will never

get the sizes right.
I am thinking of going
to the rodeo. What do

you say to that? In the fall
I'm going to the woods, you
stupid idiot, where the skies
are not cloudy all day.

Answer 1

I think that the author of this poem is a woman who feels neglected by her husband.
I think she's angry at him.
And I think that her husband could possibly be having an affair, which she knows is happening.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When she says, "....I hold my breath while you swim,"

I think she means to say that his actions and his neglect cause her stress and strain.

And to say that she has "learned this trick"
suggests to me that she has come to see it as an ongoing, repetitive thing.

~~~~~~~~

And then she says, "I am sewing sundresses all day, and for whom? Please, give me a hint or I will never get the sizes right."

I think that the "sundresses" represent the good impression that the author is trying to put on for her husband.

But her husband doesn't notice her gestures.
She asks her husband "for whom" she is making the dresses.
I think that's because she knows that her efforts at looking nice, for him, are useless.
And that there is possibly some other woman who's got his attention, instead.

~~~~~~~~

She tells him that she is "thinking of going to the rodeo."

When we think of a "rodeo," we can imagine a loud, vibrant, exciting place that's full of life and entertainment.
And people.

Rodeos are places where we could meet and get to know new people.

This makes me believe that the author wants to introduce a little more excitement and livelihood into her life. That she seeks something that is missing from her marriage.

And that she possibly wants to get back at her husband for something he's done, asking him, "What do you say to that?"

(When she asks, "What do you say to that,"
I don't think she means to invite him along to her rodeo.
Because later on, she calls him a "stupid idiot.")

~~~~~~~~~

When she calls him a "stupid idiot,"
I get the impression that she is angry with him.

And she tells him that she is "going to the woods....where the skies are not cloudy all day."

This makes it seem like she wants to get away from her normal life, and go somewhere secluded, where she may not feel as sad or gloomy.

Answer 2

awesome thank you. I actually saw some references to Mormonism and someone else saw a couple who couldn't have a baby!

Thanks for your input!

Answer 3

PS @InYourHead we were supposed to withhold this until after but the writer is male. However I completely agree the speaker is a woman

Answer 4

That is interesting. If the writer is a male, then I see how this could be him, talking to his sperm, and hoping to have a baby girl.