top of page
Writer's pictureShelby Coppola

Bound to Disagree

Updated: Jan 7

My love,

how we scream

in the kitchen

side by side in the car

over dinner on the subway.

Faces redden

Voices raise You hush me,

Why are you talking so loud?

A phrase I never respond well to.

Cause I don't give a shit who hears.


Space clearly needed.

We veer in different directions

separated by a wall, a door,

sidewalks on opposite sides of the street, one heading east the other west.


My stride changes when I'm angry. My fists clench, my feet feel heavy, my mind

buzzes, questioning everything.

As if this one moment is the final straw.

As if ending this now will absolve me

from ever feeling this way again.


Then comes

a phone call

a text message

a hand extended

a note passed under the door

a tone that is cool

a willingness to speak slowly

an invitation to figure it out and come together again.


That's just how it goes

sometimes. Two individuals, together are bound to disagree.

What matters is, despite any fracture,

we always talk it through.


Couple holding hands walking across NYC street
A couple walking in Soho. Photo taken by Shelby Coppola

 

Poetry rocks, doesn't it?


A bit of context about this poem, I wrote it in 2022. I scribbled the first draft in a sketch pad that I used to sketch prospective pottery designs... writing comes easier to me than sketching ever did. I reflected on the lack of personal space the pandemic caused. My partner and I are lucky that we are good at spending a lot of time together, but sometimes the constant presence came at a cost.


During these moments, when friction propelled us into a disagreement, I remembered the downward spiral of my defeatist thoughts, which only perpetuated the intensity of my feelings. It's easy to down shift into the negative, to search for an 'easy' way out, to refuse to compromise, to always be right. At least, I have struggled with that.


Despite every disagreement, what's most important is to remember, these moments never last long. We always find a way to communicate and make up. Relationships are hard, they take work and that work is not always for the faint-hearted. To combat all of those toxic loopholes is the beauty of accountability.


That's what I love about poetry. The ability to transform the uncomfortable, human moments into something beautiful, almost enviable. It's way more fun to read than experience, in any case.

129 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Bình luận


Way into reading (or working on it)?

Subscribe to be notified when more of my writing publishes.

Thanks for submitting!

bottom of page