The Pleasures of Hating

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by Laure-Anne Bosselaar

I hate Mozart. Hate him with that healthy
pleasure one feels when exasperation has

crescendoed, when lungs, heart, throat,
and voice explode at once: I hate that! —


there's bliss in this, rapture. My shrink
tried to disabuse me, convinced I use Amadeus


as a prop: Think further, your father perhaps?
I won't go back, think of the shrink


with a powdered wig, pinched lips, mole:
a transference, he'd say, a relapse: so be it.


I hate broccoli, chain saws, patchouli, bra—
clasps that draw dents in your back, roadblocks,


men in black kneesocks, sandals and shorts—
I love hating that. Loathe stickers on tomatoes,


jerky, deconstruction, nazis, doilies. I delight
in detesting. And love loving so much after that.

Comments

  1. GailSeptember 19, 2009 at 8:30 PM

    Very different and very delightful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. dsSeptember 19, 2009 at 8:49 PM

    Stickers on tomatoes--absolutely! Hate those, enjoyed the poem.

    ReplyDelete
  3. YogaforCynicsSeptember 19, 2009 at 9:31 PM

    I almost wore sandals with socks this morning...would've been the first time ever...and a symptom of just how bad my footwear crisis has gotten. Need to buy new shoes really badly...I hate that...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Deanna Bland Hiott PhD, MSN, RNSeptember 19, 2009 at 9:41 PM

    Funny the things we hate, and love to hate, and hate to love....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Batteson.IndSeptember 20, 2009 at 2:33 AM

    Just been catching up with your posts :-).. there's some pretty intense gems in here... I especially like this one, not many poems that are specifically about hating stuff!.. good luck with the forthcoming lecture.. oh, and your peeps are just fine, brill in fact.. it's just the red-tape paperwork and gross lack of fellow workers they have to contend with!.. We figured out the one doc from a.e had worked at least a 15 hour shift!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Erin DavisSeptember 21, 2009 at 12:03 AM

    Oh, I think I need this one on my office wall!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Viewtiful_JustinSeptember 21, 2009 at 8:22 AM

    Oooh. This one might go in the bank vault.

    ReplyDelete
  8. lorannekeOctober 9, 2009 at 7:23 AM

    Happy you enjoyed this poem -- and thanks for not hating it!

    Laure-Anne

    ReplyDelete
  9. lorannekeOctober 9, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    What a pleasure for me that you didn't hate this poem!

    Laure-Anne

    ReplyDelete

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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