A Woman Trapped in a Slaves Body There is only one way to interpret Tess Gallagher's poem "I Stop Writing the Poem", as a desperate cry of loneliness and despair. Gallagher's words and the sadness which lies behind them, and the deeper, darker implications that are demonstrated in her melancholy words both aid in proving the isolation of the subject. The true wretchedness that lies within "I Stop Writing the Poem," is the fact that …showed first 75 words of 604 total…

…showed last 75 words of 604 total…see how it is done"(10-12). This vision indicates that the narrator is not the only woman experiencing this particular slavish treatment. The heartbreaking truth is she abhors her life, and yet, the vicious cycle will continue to the youth of America. Although the poem itself is overflowing with powerful images and lexis, the woman is still left doing the laundry and neglecting her poetry. The narrator is basically trapped in a state of helplessness.