Intrusion
by Denise Levertov
Vintage Book, page 180

After I had cut off my hands
and grown new ones

something my former hands had longed for
came and asked to be rocked.

After my plucked out eyes
had withered, and new ones grown

something my former eyes had wept for
came asking to be pitied.



The first thing I noticed about this poem was the brevity of it but also the ability to create strong images and evoke emotions from me in such a compact space. The images of literally removing those parts of a person that enables someone to feel and see really makes a strong impression that whatever happened to the author is something she never wants to experience again. The contrast of her former self and new, almost newly "grown" self emphasizes how much the author has changed since the incident. I think that this poem is about someone who wants to move on and escape her past but at the same time, something keeps pulling her back and she cannot let go just yet. The author seems to have put this incident behind her already, with her new "hands" and "eyes" grown in already, but I think that by saying her past came back asking to be comforted in a way, the author is ready to finally accept what happened. Although it is not clear why she felt the need to start over, I believe that many people can relate to this poem because almost everyone has had something happen to them that they would rather erase from their minds. I think it is applicable to a range of events people go through, not just a specific one i.e. a break-up, death, any sense of loss, etc. Since I could actually see myself in the author's situation, I really felt for her and what she has gone through. We've all had unfortunate things happen in our lives and ask ourselves why would it happen to us, but in the end these things only help shape us into who we are now.