Thoughts on One's Head (in plaster, with a bronze wash)

by William Meredith
p. 112

What makes this poem great is the way it takes something everybody is familiar with and makes you think of it in a different light, bringing up something people don't normally think about when they see this item. And although it does make you think, it is also extremely humorous, bringing things up that are very true but not always thought about. It starts out with its title, kind of like that "Turning cliche's on their head" excercise. Meredith takes "Thought's on One's Head," and, instead of talking about what he or you may be pondering, he puts those thoughts into a bust of someone probably dead. It's title alone is great and captures attention, especially with what he inserted into the parentheses, flipping that cliche. The form of this poem is also great, and creates a sort of sing-songy vibe with seven stanzas of four lines, each stanza having an abab rhyme scheme. I think this helps build on the humor the poem creates. The subjects brought up throughout the poem, however, are what make this poem so great. It's hilarious when you think the thoughts Meredith speaks of are brought up in the heads of the people busts are typically made of: presidents, people of great achievemnts and moral, leaders of nations, and so on. "Erotic movies," making "love and money," even telling "some few extremely funny" jokes make me want to just giggle. It then ends on how he himself dislikes his own head because of the "thoughts on one's head." I really like this poem, it's humor, and how it makes you think of the things the go on in people's heads.