The Untrustworthy Speaker

Louise GlückLouise Glück22 Apr 1943

1 min read · 12.4K reads

Don't listen to me; my heart's been broken.
I don't see anything objectively.I know myself; I've learned to hear like a psychiatrist.
When I speak passionately,
That's when I'm least to be trusted.It's very sad, really: all my life I've been praised
For my intelligence, my powers of language, of insight-
In the end they're wasted-I never see myself.
Standing on the front steps. Holding my sisters hand.
That's why I can't account
For the bruises on her arm where the sleeve ends ...In my own mind, I'm invisible: that's why I'm dangerous.
People like me, who seem selfless.
We're the cripples, the liars:
We're the ones who should be factored out
In the interest of truth.When I'm quiet, that's when the truth emerges.
A clear sky, the clouds like white fibers.
Underneath, a little gray house. The azaleas
Red and bright pink.If you want the truth, you have to close yourself
To the older sister, block her out:
When I living thing is hurt like that
In its deepest workings,
All function is altered.That's why I'm not to be trusted.
Because a wound to the heart
Is also a wound to the mind.
Louise Glück
About the poet

Louise Glück

Louise Glück was born in New York City in 1943 and grew up on Long Island. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. Considered by many to be one of America’s most talented contemporary poets, Glück is known for her poetry’s technical preci…

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