The New Self is a poem by Steve Gehrke and appears in the July/August 2012 addition of Poetry 100 Years. The New Self is a deeply introspective poem that begins with the author trying to decipher what exactly it is that causes him to dwell on his inner self. Throughout the opening stanzas, Gehrke questions the existence of his inner self and tries to describe its presence through various metaphors. In the closing lines of the first stanza, Gehrke refers to his inner self as "crouched/ in flesh, like a vampire packed into a bat" (3-4). His inner self, or individuality, is confined from the rest of his being. Gehrke also mentions his self as "my East Berlin? Are we an I/ or each other's synonym?" (7-8). Gehrke's reference to East Berlin and his use of "we" and "I" convey a message of unification between his two selves. Whatever the intent of Gehrke's deliberately vague and indecisive descriptions of his inner self may be, The New Self is a poem about a man's self pity for the events that have taken place throughout his life.
The author's first reflection on his self began in "South Orange again, city of my former self's last/ stand" (13-14). South Orange is a suburban area in New Jersey possibly where the author is referring too. At first, Gehrke believes his inner self to be "the buried light,/ the jeweled glow, the sunlight falling through/ the falling slow" (16-18) but as he unearths himself and digs deeper he sees he is "an equation only/ destruction solves"(19-20). Gehrke focuses on his vices of starting "each day with masturbation and end[ing]/ each night with gin" (21-22).
[...] Gehrke ends his poem with a rhetorical question as he blames he's reckless actions on his inner self who "I insist must exist, because if not,/ who else was it that could have been so cruel?" (92-93) Gehrke's admission of guilt to potentially giving his wife a deadly disease was probably the prime motivation for writing this poem. His conflict with his inner self is a technique he uses to place blame indirectly on himself; although he does eventually accept full responsibility. To readers, The New Self may be seen as a narrative of self-pity written by a depressed and cynical man, but to the author The New Self was a deeply therapeutic verse to a man in a clear crisis. Work Cited Gehrke, Steve. "The New Self." Poetry 100 Years July/August (2012): 330-33. Print. [...]
[...] Extra credit The New Self is a poem by Steve Gehrke and appears in the July/August 2012 addition of Poetry 100 Years. The New Self is a deeply introspective poem that begins with the author trying to decipher what exactly it is that causes him to dwell on his inner self. Throughout the opening stanzas, Gehrke questions the existence of his inner self and tries to describe its presence through various metaphors. In the closing lines of the first stanza, Gehrke refers to his inner self as "crouched/ in flesh, like a vampire packed into a bat" (3-4). [...]
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