How my life relates to “In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus One Day”
I enjoyed X. J. Kennedy’s narrative poem “In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus One Day.” The poem was enjoyable as it was easy to read, straightforward, and entertaining. The author’s irony by stating in the title that it is a “prominent bar,” made me laugh. As Secaucus is known as a grungy farm town, and there is nothing prominent about it. The setting for this poem is actually a dive bar that caters to blue-collar workers, in Secaucus New Jersey. It is about a drunken woman bragging about her fabulous and glamorous life when she was younger. She is telling her story about how she once had it all the looks, the money, and the men. Then as time passed by, and her hard life caught up with her, she lost them all. She brags about her glorious days of fortune, before telling …show more content…
I too once had the looks, the money, and the women. Now I am older, I am no longer physically fit, and I have no money, which means I can no longer acquire the companionship that I used to. In the first six stanzas, the drunken woman brags about everything she used to have. Being someone who has over indulged, I have told many stories of my ostentatious and extravagant past experiences. Like the drunken woman in the poem, I have dined at expensive restaurants, have stayed in fancy hotels, and have driven and owned many luxury vehicles. The last four stanzas discuss her descent from grace. I relate to this a great deal because I once liked to gamble as well. While her betting game of choice was the horses at the track, mine was double-deck blackjack. The woman stated, “I bet on the all, for I hated to lose” (26). I too always went for it all, because the bigger the bet, the better the reward. As someone who gambled for many years, I know the highs of winning and the lows of losing. The woman and I both let our addiction to gambling take everything we valued to have
I enjoyed X. J. Kennedy’s narrative poem “In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus One Day.” The poem was enjoyable as it was easy to read, straightforward, and entertaining. The author’s irony by stating in the title that it is a “prominent bar,” made me laugh. As Secaucus is known as a grungy farm town, and there is nothing prominent about it. The setting for this poem is actually a dive bar that caters to blue-collar workers, in Secaucus New Jersey. It is about a drunken woman bragging about her fabulous and glamorous life when she was younger. She is telling her story about how she once had it all the looks, the money, and the men. Then as time passed by, and her hard life caught up with her, she lost them all. She brags about her glorious days of fortune, before telling …show more content…
I too once had the looks, the money, and the women. Now I am older, I am no longer physically fit, and I have no money, which means I can no longer acquire the companionship that I used to. In the first six stanzas, the drunken woman brags about everything she used to have. Being someone who has over indulged, I have told many stories of my ostentatious and extravagant past experiences. Like the drunken woman in the poem, I have dined at expensive restaurants, have stayed in fancy hotels, and have driven and owned many luxury vehicles. The last four stanzas discuss her descent from grace. I relate to this a great deal because I once liked to gamble as well. While her betting game of choice was the horses at the track, mine was double-deck blackjack. The woman stated, “I bet on the all, for I hated to lose” (26). I too always went for it all, because the bigger the bet, the better the reward. As someone who gambled for many years, I know the highs of winning and the lows of losing. The woman and I both let our addiction to gambling take everything we valued to have