QUICK DRAW CAROL ANN DUFFY

STARTER… Read the poem and list all of the references to the Wild West in your books.

I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan.

I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan. SUGGESTS THAT SPEAKER IS NEVER FAR FROM PHONES - EXPECTING CONTACT?

I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan. ENJAMBMENT GIVES EMPHASIS TO THE WORD – LEAVING IT AWAY FROM THE REST OF ITS LINE

I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan. SUGGESTS HOW RAPIDLY THE PHONE IS ANSWERED THE COMMAS INSIST ON PAUSES TO GIVE EFFECT

I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan. ABLE TO DELIVER CUTTING REMARKS THAT HURT

I wear the two, the mobile and the landline phones, like guns, slung from the pockets on my hips. I’m all alone. You ring, quickdraw, your voice a pellet in my ear, and hear me groan. RHYME LINKS WITH THE WORD ‘ALONE’ ON PREVIOUS LINE

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me SPEAKER IS HURT BY THE LOVER’S WORDS

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me SPEAKER DOES NOT ANSWER THE NEXT CALL – NOT AS EAGER…

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me INTERNAL RHYME ADDS EMPHASIS TO THE FRACTURED RHYTHM

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me FIRES OFF THE NEXT HURTFUL REMARK – BUT ‘MISSES’ (DOES NOT HAVE THE DESIRED EFFECT ALLITERATION

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me MAYBE PLANNED TO ATTACK A WEAK SPOT, KNOWING IT WILL HURT

You’ve wounded me. Next time, you speak after the tone. I twirl the phone, then squeeze the trigger of my tongue, wide of the mark. You choose your spot, then blast me VICTIM IS NOT SPARED ANY PAIN

through the heart. And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquor in the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobile to the Sheriff; in my boot, another one’s

through the heart. And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquor in the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobile to the Sheriff; in my boot, another one’s EFFECTIVE IF A LOVERS’ TIFF

through the heart. And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquor in the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobile to the Sheriff; in my boot, another one’s CLASSIC WESTERN IMAGE – INDICATING HERE THAT THEY HAVE REACHED THE ‘MAKE OR BREAK’ TIME IN THE RELATIONSHIP

through the heart. And this is love, high noon, calamity, hard liquor in the old Last Chance saloon. I show the mobile to the Sheriff; in my boot, another one’s ALL OF THESE IMAGES COMBINE TO CREATE AN EXTENDED METAPHOR

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this …

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this … SHORT SENTENCE – EMPHASISES A FAST REACTION – ALMOST AS IF SPEAKER HAS BEEN SHOT

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this … CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN SHATTERED LITERALLY ON THE FLOOR – A CONTRAST TO THE GUN TWIRLER OF EARLIER

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this … THE CONFIDENT ‘SWAGGER’ HAS NOW TURNED TO A ‘FUMBLE’ – DEFINITELY THE UNDERDOG HERE

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this … ASSONANCE OF LONG ‘EE’ SOUND EMPHASISES THE LONG DRAWN OUT MOMENTS WHEN TIME SEEMS TO SLOW DOWN

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this … SOUND VERY PRECIOUS AND VALUABLE

concealed. You text them both at once. I reel. Down on my knees, I fumble for the phone, read the silver bullets of your kiss. Take this … and this … and this … and this … and this … REPETITION SOUNDS THAT THE TEXTED KISSES ARE LIKE BULLETS FIRED FROM A GUN… GIVES THE EFFECT OF A PASSIONATE EMBRACE

SUMMARY…

 ‘Quickdraw’ employs the use of an extended Western conceit to relay the experience of a painful conversation to the reader.  Although repeated references to the West make the poem appear light in tone, ‘Quickdraw’ shows the speaker’s vulnerability as she clearly suffers at the hands of her lover and appears to come off the worse after the showdown.