Talking To Grief Poem by Denise Levertov
Talking To Grief
Ah, Grief, I should not treat you
like a homeless dog
who comes to the back door
for a crust, for a meatless bone.
I should trust you.
I should coax you
into the house and give you
your own corner,
a worn mat to lie on,
your own water dish.
You think I don't know you've been living
under my porch.
You long for your real place to be readied
before winter comes. You need
your name,
your collar and tag. You need
the right to warn off intruders,
to consider
my house your own
and me your person
and yourself
my own dog.
The poetry of Denise Levertov is a poetry of suffering in equilibrium while wanting 'to show that violence has become an everyday occurrence.' She personifies this grief in order to prove that we can coexist with it. She's not passive, but she has an original method to fight for life through grief and this is so beautifully expressed through her poetry.
How would one recognize and entertain joy, if one doesn't know what grief is. Grief being part of life has to be cared and managed like an obedient dog in one's own den. An Excellent metaphoric expression. Thanks for sharing the thought provoking poem. X
This poem is really good poem about denail and I think many can relate to the metaphor used here.
Grief has a place in life.We have to accept it.No one is immune.A great metaphorical poem!
Talking to grief: Metaphorical in tone to be accustomed to live with the grief, giving it a space in life and owning it as a possession! Thanks for the share!
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6/6/2026 3:50:25 AM # 1.0.0
Your verbalization is good.. specially the metaphor..but why do you want to give grief-dog a corner in your heart (house) making yourself his person thereby turning to be ever a grieving person? Robert has said it very nicely.. I totally agree with him..10 for your good choice of words
Why the poet in this poem used the personal pronouns I and you?