The Punk Revolution started in the 1960's, but didn't really take off until the 1970's. Contrary to popular belief, punk is not a fashion trend, nor simply a genre of music; it is a way of life. It is a group of people who create their own reality with rules that fit what they believe, a people who do not conform, or subsidize our government or anyone else's. Punk isn't something learned, or that you are raised into, it is a personal choice to say no to what others expect.
The main idea behind Pamela Stewarts "Punk Pantoum" is a man trying to convince his lover to commit suicide with him. The first line reads "Tonight I'll walk the razor along your throat" and goes onto to talk about the beauty of death, like how she'll wear "blood jewels and last week's ochre bruise" or how no one else will experience death the same way because it's "a new song for just you and me". Also in this stanza lies the first reference to drugs; a popular street name for heroin is "horse" the use of which causes serious damage to muscle tissues, resulting in splotchy markings on your skin. Maybe last week's ochre bruise?
In the third stanza, the man says "Bitch, let's be proud to live at Eutaw Place" Eutaw Place is a square in Baltimore that used to be known as Gibson Street, and has always been a wealthy neighborhood. By using this location, the author is illustrating that it wasn't the poor or lower class who were swept into this belief system, more often than not, it was the upper to middle class folks. On the other hand, the speaker might be saying that they shouldn't let where they're from define who they are, and choose their own fate.
"George will bring his snake and the skirt Divine threw out" is the last line in the third stanza. During the seventies, a popular name for a drug dealer was a "Street Snake", which makes this the second drug reference in the poem. But along with a drug reference, there is a religious reference, too. Divine was a famous drag queen during the seventies, but I think this name was specifically chosen to be an allusion for God, because He is commonly referred to as 'the Divine' in many Bible passages. Another even less obvious reference was in the first stanza, when the poet mentioned the sawdust next to the horse. In 1967, the "sawdust trail" came to be. It was a pathway created by ministers for revival meetings, and the sawdust was used to hold down the dust from the dirt floors, and muffle the sounds of shuffling feet. Coincidently, the majority of these revival meetings were solely attended by hippies and "recovering" punks. I use these two examples not because the narrator is a holy man, but because it shows how highly he regards the thought of Death. The man doesn't want to conform, but how can you fight something that is all around you? You run away, and sometimes Death is the only place you can go where He can't follow you. The narrator wants to love his girl completely unbothered, and is using drugs to get as close to that place as he can. Maybe that stopped being enough for him, and Death seems like his only escape.
In the fourth stanza, the author makes her last drug reference: she brings up Sandoz oranges, which are pills taken to cure dementia. They can cause internal bleeding if used incorrectly, but also offer vivid hallucinations.
The last stanza, stanza six, is when the plot comes full circle. The speaker goes from talking about walking the razor across her throat, to dragging the white-hot blade across both of their throats and backs. This is a drastic tone change, and seems like a veiled threat. In the beginning of the poem, his adjective is walking, a very calm, and even mildly rhythmic word. By the last stanza, he uses dragging, which implies force and pain, basically saying that he will do what he has to do so they can be together. Quite honestly, this does make sense if you look at how much the speaker wants them to do this together, and supports the Punk's gung-ho mindset.
"Punk Pantoum" is a dark poem, full of language that people who are not submerged in the culture wouldn't understand. The unique language and obscure references offer an insight into the lives of these people, and we see a viewpoint that we may never thought of before; like the very real escape death presents, and how it is seen among people who have exhausted every other option.
Zoe, you do an excellent job of picking out things in the poem and giving an explanation of their meaning, but now you need to go one step further and make correction, dive deeper into the poem. You go a good job of reference potential religious images or allusions - now how do they relate to the poems theme or the characters?
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