Thinking About "Leaving The Game"

Hey Everybody-

Thanks for taking time to visit my blog and read my work. I've been overwhelmed and appreciative of the support that I've gotten so far and will work even harder to keep your interest. In this blog I want to take time to speak to the comments and my own thoughts in regard to my poem "Leaving The Game".


In my previous blog, my intention was to let you read, interpret, and give me feedback (whether about my writing style, the meaning, or anything). Whenever I write, I usually can find my own meaning and tell those I share it with what I intended, but it's so cool to get a different persepctive from my audience. I want to share with you my intended meaning and a reader's interpretation.


Author's Meaning:
I initially wrote this poem about a man who was done "playing" the game. I used the term "game" to represent the relationship that he was in. I think oftentimes, maybe due to past experiences or examples taught while growing up, many people fall into the line of thinking that the Amy Winehouse song is true: Love is a losing game. If you pay close attention, I use a lot of imagery showcasing the mentally inevitable need for closure while his significant other explains to him how he is the best, but not good enough. In other words, to make it even more relative to readers, I was trying to capture the immediate feeling after being told "You're so great, but I've found (or think that there is) someone better".


The man is faced with a recurring conflict. He can either:
1. continue to be denied love in a relationship - ONCE AGAIN
2. call it quits, wait until the relationship he seeks comes to him, and walk out while he still has a heart to have feelings with.


Adding more insult to injury, it can be assumed that in his past relationships he has traveled similar paths. His companions may have bestowed upon him great compliments, but for whatever reason, they could never add up enough to be a reason for him to be the one to stay in a relationship with.


I wrote this for the "good guy". The man who may be the owner of all of the great qualities that many women say that they seek out. Now, I know that there are other things to consider. Maybe he picks the same "wrong" woman every time or perhaps he isn't as "great" as he thinks himself to be. These ideas are always possible. However, as it applies to this particular instance, the subject for this poem is the antithesis of those possibilities. And please feel free to consider the gender role reversal in this, as this can apply the other way around, too.


A Reader's Interpretation:
A reader made a very interesting observation that I never took into account. The reader spoke universally to how this poem could serve as an allusion to being at a career crossroads or a struggling family relationship. In both ways, I saw those interpretations in this poem.


The career crossroad most people face include the possibility of leaving a position due to under-appreciation or lack of opportunity. Some people feel they may hit glass ceilings and have grown frustrated with bumping their head time after time. Ultimately, this leads to jumping to a new company in search of gratification or being totally disillusioned with career progress altogether.


The struggling family relationship takes the frustrations of trying to keep family bonds tight, while the other may not be as interested as the other. An example of this could be a broken parent and child relationship. Perhaps the parent did not fulfill their responsibilites to their child during their upbringing. In spite of the sour past, the child may reach out to that parent to embark on a fresh start, only to be given an unmatched desire for that relationship to be born.


I think that both my meaning and the reader's interpretation are good starting points for discussion. Let me know:

*Which one do you more connect with? Why?

*What other way could these interpreations be looked at?

*If you have a story to share that connects with your interpretation, feel free to share and let me (and anyone else you choose) know.

Hopefully, I've provoked some thought and will enjoy more visits from you on this blog. Feel free to leave the comment on here or email me at wagordon11@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by. Be blessed!

-W.A. Gordon