Children Quote by Adrienne Rich
““RAUSCHENBERG’S BED How a bed once dressed with a kindly quilt becomes unsleepable site of anarchy What body holes expressed their exaltation loathing exhaustion what horse of night has pawed those sheets what talk under the blanket raveled what clitoris lain very still in her own subversion what traveler homeward reached for familiar bedding and felt stiff tatters under his fingers How a bed is horizontal yet this is vertical inarticulate liquids spent from a spectral pillow How on a summer night someone drives out on the roads while another one lies ice-packed in dreams of freezing Sometimes this bed has eyes, sometimes breasts sometimes eking forth from its laden springs pity compassion pity again for all they have worn and borne Sometimes it howls for penis sometimes vagina sometimes for the nether hole the everywhere How the children sleep and wake the children sleep awake upstairs How on a single night the driver of roads comes back into the sweat-cold bed of the dreamer leans toward what’s there for warmth human limbs human crust 2000””
About This Quote
Source Poem: "Bed" by Adrienne Rich, 2000
The poem uses a bed as a metaphor for chaotic, erotic, and existential experiences, blending physical and psychological imagery.
In simple terms: Bed as chaotic metaphor.
Explore complex, layered meanings in everyday objects.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- literary analysis
- creative writing
- therapy sessions
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does the bed symbolize personal conflict?
- What emotions does the imagery evoke?
The dense, fragmented style may obscure clear interpretation.