Objectives by soleke ali
I think this is striking. Excellent writing with a lovely cadence. I like a certain ambiguity and dreaminess to the poem in that I can't tell, quite, whether this is about an actual woman or the writng process - a poet calling up the muse? No matter, because layered meaning and metaphor greatly appeal to me and what is being described is the effect of this "she" on a speaker helplessly absorbed and influenced by a mesmerizing presence, whether inner or outer. Could be both. My only slight stumble was over the use of 'woken' which seems contemporarily awkward to me, though on the other hand it is in perfect keeping with the "o" sound throughout the line in which it's placed, and the writer makes skillful use of such assonance elsewhere, as in the last two lines. For me, the imagery, phrasing and resolution are beautifully acomplished.
