# Alien vs Predator poem: I don't get it

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-poem-i-dont-get-it/644741>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 21, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-poem-i-dont-get-it/644741 "2012-12-21T15:07:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-poem-i-dont-get-it/644741/1 "2012-12-21T15:07:37Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> Praise this world, Rilke says, the jerk.  
> We’d stay up all night. Every angel’s  
> berserk. Hell, if you slit monkeys  
> for a living, you’d pray to me, too.  
> I’m not so forgiving. I’m rubber, you’re glue.

I don’t this [this poem](http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/01/12/090112po_poem_robbins). It was just published now in book form in a collection by Penguin Poets and got a recommendation by the New York Times.

What, may I ask, does anyone else think about it? Brilliant and creative or just random phrases?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-poem-i-dont-get-it/644741/2 "2012-12-21T16:39:43Z")

</div>

I can see the confusion. You missed the critical part. It is not:

> [@](#):
>
> Praise this world, Rilke says, the jerk.

It is:

> [@](#):
>
> Praise \*this \*world, Rilke says, the jerk.

OK, I got nothin’. I do not “get it” either.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-poem-i-dont-get-it/644741/3 "2012-12-23T18:47:09Z")

</div>

What makes you think there’s something to ‘get’? Poetry (and art in general) isn’t necessarily some form of riddle to crack to uncover hidden deeper meanings – though you wouldn’t suspect so from the approach to the subject often taught in school. Sometimes it’s just about language, about the aesthetics of words, of rhythm and flow, or about the evocative imagery that isn’t necessarily meant to paint any kind of coherent, meaningful picture. Think about a melody: there’s no hidden meaning to discover behind it, nevertheless, it is readily appreciable from an aesthetic point of view.

That said, this specific poem doesn’t do terribly much for me, either.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-poem-i-dont-get-it/644741/4 "2012-12-23T19:21:56Z")

</div>

I don’t think there’s much to it as words on a page, but I’d like to hear it read aloud before I pass judgment.