Chris Martin "The Bubble"

Poet Chris Martin is very proud of the fact that none of the lines in his poem are the same length. I hadn't noticed this before he told us, I had just noticed that his lines are generally short and choppy. This made the poem, "The Bubble", harder to read. I really had to pay attention to every line and go back to certain lines just to try and find meaning or a sense of understanding. My attention span had to be on point for this poem and sometimes it trailed off. For example, the first time a read the poem I zoned out at the line, "who are every name." This line is towards the beginning of the poem and to me, was a confusing one. It isn't exactly a logical sentence and it doesn't fit in well with the one two lines above it, "with sun’s bubble still inside." My attention was brought back with the line "doubling bubbling bubble" which is my favorite line of the poem. I love the repetition of the 'b' sound and the line in general sounds so happy. If I was asked to explain the story or message in the poem, I wouldn't be able to do it because it all seems like nonsense to me. First he was talking about a girls thigh, then the sun, then names, then bubbles, then angels, then champagne and then how angels and workmen are similar. It was quite a lot to take in! By using shorter lines and changing the topic very often he really pushes you away from grasping the concept, story or image portrayed. All the images he uses in his poems are real life experiences so I would think that it would be easier to understand his poems, but its not. People want a story in a poem, something that is easy to follow and he does not give the reader or the listener this.

http://www.esquemag.org/2012/01/31/chris-martin/