The Opposite of People
Patrick Ryan Frank
The poems in The Opposite of People examine the place of television and cinema in our lives, the tangling of psychology and popular media. In these poems, the poet questions how the imagination can be given shape in films and songs, and how those in turn shape our imaginations, for better or worse. How much of ourselves have we taken from the movies? Does the screen reflect our feelings, or do we reflect the screen’s? Within this collection, we see our lives reflected in artistry and artifice: contrived but desperately earnest.
“Makeover”, from The Opposite of People:
I'm only this, and this is not enough. Because each body is an accident. Because my body is the opposite of mystery, and yet I cannot solve myself. I will not know until I'm shown. Because I want to step into a life as a wealthy woman steps into a store. Because the fountain's full of coins already, and the escalator doesn't pause its glide
upward into grace. I will be more
than what I seem. My heels on the marble floor
will sound like every door in hell thrown wide.
than what I seem. My heels on the marble floor
will sound like every door in hell thrown wide.
