Hello, stranger.

Lines 1-2 The first sentence is cut smack in the middle by a full stop. A little guarded, a button of formality. The greeting is casual, the information exchanged (name) is basic, factual. The recognition of similarities is hesitant. Testing the waters, trying not to look desperate, afraid you'll drive them away. Lines 3-4 First sentence, broken by a comma. There's still the formality suggested by the punctuation, but it's easing. Lines 5-6 First sentence is now held together by a conjunction, there's a further reduction of formality, an effort on the side of both parties to converse and immerse themselves in experience of being the other, by means of "swapping radio stations", which suggests that the two friends live far apart from each other. Lines 7-8 Second line in the couplet begins with a lowercase letter, this is the first time throughout the poem the rhyme scheme has been abandoned. There was no formality binding this friendship anymore, you were vulnerable enough to let your carefully crafted self crack a little. Lines 9-10 It's strange how right after you've become so close, the other person starts to get cold. The immediateness of such a response suggests that there's something the other person is running from, a fear they have of getting close, abandonment issues of some sort. And yet, you ponder whether it was you who'd become old and boring compared to other novelties, as if it was an obvious consequence of the passage of time. The dots at the end make it seem like these doubts have started to seep in and become insecurities in and of themselves. Lines 11-13 Line 13 is an important break in the structure. Ending rhymes with lines 11 and ,12, making it seem like a continuation, as if the house of trust falling down was an unavoidable consequences and yet the gap between the lines shows that despite the obvious conclusion of ignoring calls and texts, the realisation of the failure of the friendship was delayed, shocking. And yet you were only kicked out of the other person's walls, because that's how far they let you in. Interesting to note that line 12 switched back to a formal uppercase and all three sentences end with full stops, signifying permanent, devastating ends to each of your hopes. Destroyed one by one. Lines 14-15 The use of then, an natural continuation to the series of unfortunate events. Resignation to reality. And yet the second line with its lowercase letter grasps for final attempt at salvaging the friendship and the informality.

Lines 16-17 This lines makes one think if the poet's friend was an artist of some sort too, whether the art in them dried up and they stopped creating, or whether it's just a reference to never receiving letters from them again. The gradual fading out, drying up and continuation of the cycle, of becoming a stranger again. The wounds are no longer fresh, the marks of the pen are scars that don't bleed anymore. Mere memories.

Line 18 The sorry, so out of the blue. An apology or regret at how things turned out? A response that you're waiting to hear from the one who left?

/r/OCPoetry Thread