Home is where the heart is. While many people take the saying loosely, stitching it on copious throw pillows, poet Savannah Brown takes it literally. Every body part has a room to correlate to. Throughout Savannah Brown’s “real estate,” the speaker continuously describes herself by comparing herself to a home.
The speaker begins the poem describing the type of home she is. She says, “i am my own / i have built myself a one bedroom / single bed home in my bones” (1-3). Clearly, a one bedroom, single bed home means that it is only her, the speaker, who is in control, therefore she only needs one bedroom and a single bed. Point in fact, she is alone and in control of her body and her mind. She then goes on to describe the outside of her ‘home’, …show more content…
In the second section, it starts with, “and if you ask nicely / step through the landmines / you can come in” (18-20) which, in other words, means she will only allow someone inside when she trusts them. If they can successfully step around the landmines, or her trust, she will allow them in to see the real her. To begin, she describes their journey through her home, “we’ll enter through the attic / it’s a topsy turvy / cluttered catastrophe” (21-23). The attic is her brain because it is at the very top and it is crammed with knowledge as well as unwanted things. In addition, referring to it as a ‘topsy turvy’ may possibly be implying some kind of mental illness, such as depression or anxiety. Furthermore, this also explicates why in the next line there are “some spiderweb-coated / corners and crannies” (24-25). Generally, depression can make those affected lose interest in what they used to love doing, which may be what the speaker is trying to say. However, going on, the speaker says, “cover the space / other parts are pristine / sparkling, new, unused” (26-28) which refers to the places of her brain that are open and free of anything. These places have not been affected by any of her worries yet. Eventually, she ends the section with, “but if only i knew what to do / with the walls, short sprawling verses / envelope them all” (29-31). Basically, …show more content…
She explains that she thinks it’s the living room in lines 32 and 33, “the heart, i’d say / is the living room”. It is a metaphor; typically living rooms are where guests spend time. The speaker’s guests are in her heart, possibly because she has a lovely bond with them. She continues with, “and if you don’t mind the palpitations” (34), which could mean anxiety. In the first section, there was a small hint of mental illness, so it is possible that the speaker could have constant palpitations caused by anxiety. She warns the guest of the “looming threat of infatuation” (35) which could link to her falling in love easily, especially as the heart is commonly used as a symbol for love. The speaker’s line, “occasional lack of motivation” (36) could be linked to the theory that she possibly has depression because it is common, with depression, to feel unmotivated, and have a sinking feeling in the heart. In lines 37 and 38, the speaker says, “it’s not a bad spot to spend your time / while away hours, thinking up rhymes” because if the person she is showing off her home to those who can stand those mentioned above, then they will be okay. Also, it is commonly said that poetry comes from the heart, which is why she mentions rhyming. Going on, she says, “the ceiling drips with blood, ink” (39). It is obvious that ink is permanent, so, with that logic, what is inside the heart is also permanent, dripping with
The speaker begins the poem describing the type of home she is. She says, “i am my own / i have built myself a one bedroom / single bed home in my bones” (1-3). Clearly, a one bedroom, single bed home means that it is only her, the speaker, who is in control, therefore she only needs one bedroom and a single bed. Point in fact, she is alone and in control of her body and her mind. She then goes on to describe the outside of her ‘home’, …show more content…
In the second section, it starts with, “and if you ask nicely / step through the landmines / you can come in” (18-20) which, in other words, means she will only allow someone inside when she trusts them. If they can successfully step around the landmines, or her trust, she will allow them in to see the real her. To begin, she describes their journey through her home, “we’ll enter through the attic / it’s a topsy turvy / cluttered catastrophe” (21-23). The attic is her brain because it is at the very top and it is crammed with knowledge as well as unwanted things. In addition, referring to it as a ‘topsy turvy’ may possibly be implying some kind of mental illness, such as depression or anxiety. Furthermore, this also explicates why in the next line there are “some spiderweb-coated / corners and crannies” (24-25). Generally, depression can make those affected lose interest in what they used to love doing, which may be what the speaker is trying to say. However, going on, the speaker says, “cover the space / other parts are pristine / sparkling, new, unused” (26-28) which refers to the places of her brain that are open and free of anything. These places have not been affected by any of her worries yet. Eventually, she ends the section with, “but if only i knew what to do / with the walls, short sprawling verses / envelope them all” (29-31). Basically, …show more content…
She explains that she thinks it’s the living room in lines 32 and 33, “the heart, i’d say / is the living room”. It is a metaphor; typically living rooms are where guests spend time. The speaker’s guests are in her heart, possibly because she has a lovely bond with them. She continues with, “and if you don’t mind the palpitations” (34), which could mean anxiety. In the first section, there was a small hint of mental illness, so it is possible that the speaker could have constant palpitations caused by anxiety. She warns the guest of the “looming threat of infatuation” (35) which could link to her falling in love easily, especially as the heart is commonly used as a symbol for love. The speaker’s line, “occasional lack of motivation” (36) could be linked to the theory that she possibly has depression because it is common, with depression, to feel unmotivated, and have a sinking feeling in the heart. In lines 37 and 38, the speaker says, “it’s not a bad spot to spend your time / while away hours, thinking up rhymes” because if the person she is showing off her home to those who can stand those mentioned above, then they will be okay. Also, it is commonly said that poetry comes from the heart, which is why she mentions rhyming. Going on, she says, “the ceiling drips with blood, ink” (39). It is obvious that ink is permanent, so, with that logic, what is inside the heart is also permanent, dripping with