‘It’s like the Planet Thinks I Am Its Hostage’ by Heather Christle​​

— Reneé Bibby

Sometimes, as a reader, I seek out the work that exhibits skills I admire as a writer. There’s no need for me to struggle with sarcasm for pitch-perfect irreverence when Heather Christle has already done it perfectly. In her poem ‘It’s like the Planet Thinks I Am Its Hostage,’ every line is threaded equally with a denotation and a sentiment in exact opposition to the literal meaning. It’s a perfect linguistic marvel where the reader can understand that nothing she says is meant sincerely, and so by coming at us obliquely, she slices us more deeply. She flexes this writerly muscle for great good; do any of us really believe, “It is good to take life lying down”? So, then, the very premise of the poem asks us: why are we allowing the seismic demise of our own planet to happen? Why are we doing nothing? No rant has ever moved another to change their ways, but this sly revelation of our own folly is breathtaking skill and maybe it will.


Scum Magazine