Kinna

“Grown Up” by Edna St. Vincent Millay

(For 2012 National (US) Poetry Month celebrations)

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Yesterday Lu of Regular Rumination posted a short poem by D. Nurkse.  She said, in her intro, that she “likes long poems, but a very short poem that packs a punch will always steal my heart.”   I agree completely.

Today’s poem, “Grown Up” is written by the late American feminist poet Edna St. Vincent Millay.  She is unflinchingly honest and witty and at her best when writing about women and our relationships.  I love the poem  “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed” in which she rejects sexual power and its associated “frenzy” as “insufficient reason/  For conversation when we meet again”.

In “Grown Up”, she captures the emotions of both the child and the adult quite brilliantly.  Enjoy!

Grown Up

Was it for this I uttered prayers
And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,
That now, domestic as a plate,
I should retire at half-past eight?

– Edna St Vincent Millay

from The Collected Poems by Edna  St Vincent Millay

14 comments

  1. Oh that is just lovely! Edna St. Vincent Millay is a favorite poet of mine and this poem shows just why. So insightful AND funny. Thank you for sharing and linking back to my blog!

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  2. It is wonderful. I only know one of her poems, which is the one you quoted earlier in the post. I love that ‘insufficient reason.’ I don’t read much poetry, but I think I will look out for her. Thanks for the nudge.

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