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Colette Inez’s poem, “Closer to the Loss” was published in the Winter 1972-1973 Aphra journal. Originally, the poem is not placed side by side. Instead, stanzas directly follow after each other.<\/p><\/div>\n
Inez became an orphan when she was eight years old and was in multiple foster homes until she was permanently placed in a foster home until she was permanently placed in Long Island, New York. There, she was abused by her foster father (Colette Inez). In the second stanza of the poem, Inez describes her time with \u201cher foster families\u201d in graphic and chilling words, \u201c: \/ Daddy-boozers \/ in bargain suits \/ crouching at the dark \/ for a squeeze of her breasts\u201d (Inez, 39). By using \u201cDaddy-boozers,\u201d Inez refers to the always drunken state of her foster father. As an eight-year-old girl, there was no way to protect herself against this sexual abuse, especially when her \u201cdaddy\u201d was intoxicated. The use of \u201cdaddy\u201d in this stanza is chilling as the next line describes how he would go \u201ccrouching in the dark \/ for a squeeze of her breasts.\u201d By unveiling the truth about her abuse, Inez created a new pathway so that other women can feel heard and validated about their nauseating experiences. It reassured women that they were not alone. Their trauma was voiced through feminist periodicals and brought awareness to such cruelties.
\nInez uses violent imagery in the lines, \u201cTo slam the child\u2019s guff \/ bloody with sores\u201d to put into perspective how critical her situation was at home (Inez, 39). The word \u201cguff\u201d is a metaphor for Inez\u2019s genitalia. \u201cSlam the child\u2019s guff\u201d explicitly illustrates the physical, sexual torture experienced by a child. \u201cBloody with sores” illustrates the severe sexual abuse Inez painfully experienced. It reinforces the idea that she will never go back to living a normal childhood because it was tortured out of her.<\/p>\n
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This is a portrait of Colette Inez (1931-2018). Inez wrote ten poetry books and won many awards for her poems.<\/p><\/div>\n
Inez also relates innocence to purity as an important ideal in childhood. Being exposed to the evils of the world at a young age strips children of their childhood and changes their whole perspective of the world. Inez was exposed to the cruelty of the world and expresses her change in behavior when she says, \u201cDon\u2019t see her coiled, reptilian smile- \/ enough terror and rage \/ to ravage your loins\u201d (Inez, 40). Reptiles are cold-blooded and can symbolize strength. Inez calls on her strength to keep her composure, despite the rage she feels. Her once innocent smile has now turned into a fury which she is fighting to release. The word choice in \u201cravage your loins\u201d demonstrates the intensity of her rage. By describing her foster father\u2019s penis as \u201cloins,\u201d\u2013\u2013as in pork loins\u2013\u2013 she sees her foster father as a pig. She is now a little girl filled with rage.<\/p>\n
The ending of the poem uses graphic sexual metaphors to illustrate the end of her childhood by saying, \u201cA belt\u2019s tight notch \/ to move in close \/ like a zipper\u2019s climb \/ or a doorknob\u2019s cold, \/ closer and closer to the loss; \/ the worlds that drown \/ in easy sperm \/ gasping for love\u201d (Inez, 40). The title of the poem is referenced when she says, \u201ccloser to the loss\u201d meaning every second that passes by brings her closer to the loss of herself. \u201cThe worlds that drown in easy sperm\u201d alludes to her innocence and lost potential of a normal childhood because of this horrific crime. \u201cGrasping for love\u201d is connected to how her foster father would use rape as a symbol of love and the darkest twisted ways love can be represented.<\/p>\n
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Works Cited:<\/p>\n
Aphra<\/em>, vol. 4, no. 1, Winter 1972-1973.<\/p>\n \u200b\u200b\u201cColette Inez.\u201d Penny’s Poetry Pages Wiki,\u00a0 \u00a0https:\/\/pennyspoetry.fandom.com\/wiki\/Colette_Inez.<\/p>\n Inez, Colette. \u201cCloser to the Loss.\u201d Aphra<\/em>, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 39-40.<\/p>\n In Memoriam: Colette Inez (1930 \u2013 2018) | VCCA. https:\/\/www.vcca.com\/in-memoriam-colette-inez-1930-2018\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cCloser to the Loss\u201d by Colette Inez is a graphic poem that shares the traumatic sexual violence endured as a young child. Published in the feminist journal Aphra, Inez opens up about her abuse in the hopes of breaking the … Continue reading