avatarJ M Mantium

Summary

The poem "Diminished Percentage" explores the complex interplay of contentment, happiness, and self-perception amidst struggles with anxiety, damage, and powerlessness.

Abstract

The poem "Diminished Percentage" delves into the emotional landscape of an individual grappling with internal conflict. The speaker reflects on the paradoxical feelings of contentment derived from holding onto reproach, anxiety, and damage, while simultaneously feeling beaten by liberating loneliness and incapability. The narrative arc suggests a journey towards happiness, albeit through the lens of powerlessness and self-destruction. The poem concludes with an acceptance of an unchangeable dream and a blissful fantasy, indicating a complex form of happiness that coexists with unresolved inner turmoil.

Opinions

  • The speaker expresses a sense of contentment that is intertwined with negative emotions such as anxiety and self-loathing, suggesting a form of peace found in embracing one's flaws.
  • There is a recurring theme of self-sabotage, as the speaker associates happiness with self-destruction and an inability to let go of past grievances.
  • The poem conveys a sense of resignation, particularly in the lines about moving on with an "unbecoming self-destruction" and being "imprisoned in a blissful fantasy," implying that happiness may be found in surrendering to one's circumstances.
  • The author seems to suggest that personal growth and happiness can emerge from acknowledging and accepting one's limitations and past, rather than overcoming them.
  • The poem's title, "Diminished Percentage," hints at a reduced capacity for change or recovery, reflecting the theme of coming to terms with an irreversible part of oneself.

Diminished Percentage

Close to happiness, beaten and content — A poem

Photo by Jennifer Capel on Unsplash

Holding on to my reproach. I think I am content, squeezing the confidence out of my rebellion. I am holding on to my anxiety. I think I am content, wearing my fear across my face. I am holding on to my damage. I think I am content, falling deeper into self-loathing.

Liberating all that remains. I think I am beaten, sacrificing my confined pardon. I am liberating my loneliness. I think I am beaten, sacrificing my revolutionary bane discovery. I am liberating my incapability. I think I am beaten, by my unrecoverable diminished percentage.

Moving on, powerlessness to catch the undiscoverable. I think I am happy, as it is too late to cancel this reach. I am moving on, with my unbecoming self-destruction. I think I am happy, with all the times I had no clue. I am moving on, with the dream that is unchanged. I think I am happy, imprisoned in a blissful fantasy.

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