For my second poetry article, I chose another poem by Erin Hanson because I am always so inspired by her work. She writes a lot about deep subjects, nature, and fairytale characters. This poem is about Thumbelina and how she had an effect on someone's life without them realizing it. I hope you enjoy it!
They called her Thumbelina,
She was small but very wise,
Fit in the tiniest of places,
Due to her peculiar size,
She would listen to your secrets,
Laying nestled in your hair,
Give your thoughts much needed company,
When you thought no-one was there,
With your tears large as an ocean,
She would catch them in a cup,
Worried what would happen,
If you ever used them up,
To her you were an artwork,
She painted freckles on your nose,
And sewed a little love,
Into the size tag on your clothes,
When you looked into a mirror,
Too caught up in what you lacked,
You never saw her sitting,
On your shoulder, looking back,
And it let you to start thinking,
No-one was there for you at all,
She tried to tell you she was,
But her voice was far too small,
So you spent your life not knowing,
When you thought you were alone,
That the hole you had in your heart,
Was the exact size of her own.
-e.h.
Other than the obvious beauty of the rhyming and the imagery she evokes, I think that the message here is really powerful and one that we should all get more comfortable with so that we know we are never alone. At the beginning of this poem, Hanson talks about how size is seemingly a big thing that people are judged on in out society; being too short, tall, fat, skinny, pear-shaped, box-shaped, etc. There are so many beauty standards that we are all held to that we should not have to worry about. Some people can't help being tall or short and being fat or skinny should not matter at all. Being happy and healthy should be the only thing that matters. We should not be overlooked if we are too short. We should not be thought of as a giant if we are too tall. We should not be shamed for the amount of fat on our bodies and we should not be trying to fit into the figures that our society lays out for us because we are all different. Each and every one of us has a different body shape and a different way of viewing the world. The one thing that we should all keep in mind when thinking about our body shape and how we look is that the only thing that should really matter to you and the people in your life is the way you act and the way you treat others.
This pome also talks about fairytales and how having a little magic or a little mystery in our lives is a good thing. It helps us to escape our problems for a while and can even give us the tools we can use to fix the problems in our lives or to live our lives the best way we can. Thumbelina is a fairy and even she cannot make this person looking in the mirror see herself the way she does. What we should take from this is that we all need to be our own heroes. If you want to make yourself look different, go ahead, because if it will make you feel better then that is all that matters. The other thing this poem is saying is that normally there are people in your life that love you for you and will not care if you change the way you look as long as you stay true to yourself.
The lines where Hanson says, "She would listen to your secrets, Laying nestled in your hair, Give your thoughts much needed company, When you thought no-one was there," give a lot more meaning to this poem and it shows that there are always people who will be there for you through everything. Family members, good friends, and people whose job is literally to make sure you are happy and healthy. There will always be things that get you down and make you feel bad about yourself but the way to cope with that is realizing that there are so many wonderful things in life to look forward to and to hope for that you always have a reason to look on the bright side.
This poem was a lot like the last one I talked about and I thought this was an important message to talk about because everyone needs a little reassurance sometimes. Whether it's a nice message from a friend, an article about a beautiful poem to remind you there is always hope, or a conversation with a loved one that makes you so happy. There are always amazing pieces of art that reflect life back to us and make us think about the way we are living our lives and if you want to read more of Erin Hanson's poems you can visit her blog. Enjoy!
