Dear poet

Dear Fiona Apple,

When reading your poem "When the Pawn...", which I found through your music (namely the album titled with the poem), I felt inspired and (vaguely) vindicated. Your words are strong and sure of themself, passion and confidence seep out of the poem. I'm greeted by newfound conviction. The abstract chessboard metaphor plays into my worldview-- yet, subsequently pushes back against the helplessness a "Pawn" is expected to feel. In the dramatic situation of a boxing match, universal power dynamics bleed into (largely immaterial) confrontation. It isn't an overt call-to-action or rallying cry; I hear words of affirmation.

Violence is a universal language-- exuding hostility and ferocity. In those words, I understand your message. The tirade you describe facing when you choose to "Go Solo" was expressed straightforwardly-- -- not unlike your VMA acceptance speech, urging your audience to "go with [them]self". Yet, later in your poem, you write that "Depth is the Greatest of Heights". Here, you lost me. Are you stating that understanding yourself is a great achievement? Or rather that individuality will lead to life-defining successes?

Further, I couldn't entirely grasp the shift in the dramatic situation towards the end of the poem. Are we, the audience, the pawns? Upon my initial reads, I interpreted it as such, reading the pawn's actions as those of an everyman. But, is it that the pawn is a model for us to strive for? Your depiction of the pawn notes that he does not stumble, falter, or fail. We might---rather, we will. Is it in our convictions that we become the pawn? Does corporeal victory no longer matter once we are equipped with strong moral standing?

This poem was powerful and inspiring. In its abstraction, it is promising and comforting, with the metaphorical door left slightly ajar for personal adaptation--ironically in line with the poem's message.

Thank you,

Avee Lamba

Sent:

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Reading:

Reckless Daughter by David Yaffe

Listening: