"you fit into me" by Margaret Atwood

you fit into me
like a hook into an eye


a fish hook
an open eye


I love this poem. It made me laugh out loud. I've never read a poem that I love as much as I love this one. It's brilliant.

When I first read the title, I thought its was going to be one of those sappy or slightly creepy poems like Shakespearean sonnets or modern pop songs. I know at least one song called "You Get Me," which is entirely sappy and romantic, and it was the first thing that popped into my head when reading "you fit into me." This romantic beginning makes the irony of the second that much more powerful. I was laughing then and just kept laughing harder as I read the rest of the poem. The poem has brilliantly continues the sentence through not just lines, but also stanzas to produce the desired effect.

This poem also has a rhythm to it. Although it is not in a specific meter, certain words, like "hook" and "eye" are clearly stressed. The other syllables dance around the poem, pointing to those two curial words. The poem sounds pleasant. It doesn't trip up the tongue, the words could be sung -- which just furthers the irony. Some that sounds so sweet, is really so cruel.

The simplicity of the poem makes it stunning and humorous. After all, a witty joke with a powerful punch line is normally preferred to a long, drawn-out and weaving telling of the same joke. Atwood makes her point and leaves.

As will I.