The poem I chose would be a poem of controversy for the use of language and topic; however, I feel Larkin did a phenomenal job in his use of imagery and real-world application. At the beginning of this piece, Larkin is very blunt and straightforward as he tells us that he is masturbating while thinking about a former lover of sorts. Larkin begins to question whether his former lover had been brought home by another man yet or not. The metaphor he uses comparing the bedroom to a hot bakery allows one to step into his shoes. This allows the reader to feel the environment where he is. Larkin tells us how he has this severe pain caused by a serious ailment of the stomach.
Larkin continues to use strong diction as he begins to get a bit vulgar as he refers to his former lover's vagina as a cunt. He then dives into imagining her with someone else. His love for her does show as he imagines someone else getting lost in her eyes. Larkin then discusses how he shouldn't care about what she does. However, he has developed a clearly unhealthy habit as he makes himself suffer more, causing more of his intense pain. His obsession is something he knows is harmful. Larkin knows that he would be better off if he could stop his obsession with his lost lover.
Larkin then tells us how other people experience love in a sense that carries them like a tree swaying and spreads like roots. Larkin then tells us that he has never had success in love due to some violence from his past. Hard lessons that he had to learn and experience through his life caused more of his failure in love.
