Faithfulness
Original Poem by Kianna Hren & Mariah Donofrio
Original Poem - Faithfulness
Peyton pampers herself for the night
Dreaming of the day she will dress in white
Delicately she dances around the room
In hopes she will be tied to a new groom
She carefully decorates her nails
Hoping Kyle will not bail
The date is set for a night in the park
She anticipates a future spark
He rolls up in his red chevy truck
Leaving her star struck
Dressed in her chiffon blouse
She hopes to be able to call him a spouse
The golden sunset peeks through the trees
Perfect moment comes and he begins to freeze
She starts to wonder what could possibly be wrong
Was I coming on too strong?
Kyle states he has something to say
I hope his proposal isn’t too cliche
As he takes her hand
She looks around for the silver band
He starts to break down and cry
Thinking she might say goodbye
The words are unable to escape his mouth
As he knows their relationship will only go south
He procedes to tell her there is another girl
Making Peyton want to hurl
This night leaves her in absolute distress
From here on out her life will be a complete mess
It turns out his love was lust
Because of this she lost all trust
He tries to explain
But she is in far too much pain
Peyton is tired of his excuses
Seeing as though she wasn't the only one he chooses
Her family are the only ones she wanted to see
So she could sob and sip some tea
A brisk, autumn breeze fills the air
The way this ended was just not fair
He rolls away in his overrated truck
When really he doesn’t give a fuck
Summary:
This poem encompasses a heavy topic in relationships: faithfulness. However, there is a humorous side to the story, as the couple appears to be on completely different terms. Kyle is ashamed of cheating on Peyton and holds great regret for what he did. He approached this night regretting his actions and not looking forward to breaking the news to his girlfriend. However, Peyton anticipated this night excited to see what the future may bring. All along, she believed tonight would be the night he planned to propose. Shortly into the night, Peyton realized it was not what she was expecting. After Kyle broke the news to her, Peyton was completely humiliated and embarrassed.
Analysis/How it fits into our theme:
This poem was written to show a similarity to a piece of literature we previously read. The play Death of a Salesman also demonstrated the idea of faithfulness, which is a catalyst to shame. In the play, Willy Loman cheats on his wife, Linda, while he was on a business trip. Willy carries the feeling of guilt for cheating on Linda because he tried to hide the truth. Instead of being honest, he continuously lied to cover it up. One day when his son Biff caught him with another woman, Willy’s outlook changed forever. Instead of pursuing his dreams, Biff found himself working on a farm, where he thought he was content with his life. This made Willy extremely upset, because he desired more success for his son. Willy rationalized for his mistakes by reflecting his shame onto his two sons for not exceeding the standards he held.
Similar to “Faithfulness”, each character held their own version of shame. For example, Biff’s self-identity was affected by not living up to his father's expectations, leaving Biff ashamed. On the other hand, Willy felt guilty for his actions. However, this didn’t affect his self-confidence, because he diverted all his guilt onto his kids. Willy also seemed to be experiencing embarrassment, because he knew if Linda found out, his self-image would be destructed. However, he does not entirely fit under the embarrassment category. Since Willy deserved to feel guilty for his actions because they were morally wrong, his feelings fall into guilt. In our original poem, Peyton felt humiliated and embarrassed for misinterpreting Kyle’s feelings. These emotions were indicated by a fear that she contained a flaw which made her feel meaningless. On the other hand, Kyle held the same emotion as Willy: guilt. He felt this way because he understood his actions were wrong, which led him to feel remorse for his behavior. Kyle’s self-identity was not altered because of his negative actions. Rather, his actions triggered him to feel guilty of his behavior. Each of these characters experienced a different form of shame due to varying circumstances.
Mariah Donofrio & Kianna Hren
Email: donofrme@hermantownschools.org
Website: hrendonof.com
Location: La Crosse, WI, United States
Phone: 218-349-5869
Facebook: facebook.com/kiannahren
Twitter: @mariah_elise