Persona In Poetry And Fiction Poem by Raj Arumugam

1

the word ‘I’
in poetry
or fiction
is not necessarily
the poet
or the writer

this basic distinction
between writer and persona
makes a great difference
in how one understands a piece

it follows
quite logically
the views of the persona
are not necessarily
those of the writer


2

and if the persona is mean
or uses such filthy words
or questions all the assumptions
you hold true
and as divinely revealed
and it infuriates you so much
that you urgently want to send in
the Mafia
or the Taliban
to deal with this devil

or if the persona
appears angelic
and talks about
such goody and sweety stuff
that it makes you want
to immediately propose marriage –

just remember,
in either case,
it’s not necessarily true
that the poet and the persona are one





3

so if the poet
in the first person
shares sad tidings
there’s really no need for condolences;
and if the persona mentions
a sexual encounter
do not make haste
to alert the poet’s partner
for most poets,
as you probably know,
are quite incapable
of distinguishing between
fact and fantasy

(actually, if you can,
and if it’s not too much
against your moral principles
you might want
to humor the sex-starved poet
and join in
the online fantasies)


4

of course there are also
writers who can never shed their self
as they vomit words;
for such constipated innocents
there is no such thing
as persona