This Is a Photograph of Me

“Girl and Horse, 1928” by Margaret Atwood (1970)

In this poem from Procedures for the Underground (1970), the speaker also describes a photograph. While both poems feature blurry photos, this speaker resents the innocence of the girl pictured, since she is oblivious to the transitory nature of life. Like “This Is a Photograph of Me,” “Girl and Horse, 1928” uses a parenthetical aside to show the speaker’s true thoughts. Both poems use characters that are vanishing into the landscape to discuss the arbitrary nature of happiness and loss.

“[you fit into me]” by Margaret Atwood (1971)

This four-line lyric appears in the collection Power Politics (1971). Like “This is a Photograph of Me,” and many of Atwood’s other poems, it relies on a surprise twist and reveals potential violence. Here, a seemingly benign hook being inserted into an eyelet on a piece of clothing turns into the gruesome image of “a fish hook” (Line 3) being stabbed into “an open eye” (Line 4). As in “This is a Photograph of Me,” we see something peaceful turn deadly. 

“The Robber Bridegroom” by Margaret Atwood (1988) 

In this poem from Interlunar, based on a German variant of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm circa 1815, Atwood explores the villain’s perspective and discusses his feelings of betrayal.