We here at Din are delighted to highlight Let's Destroy Something by Michelle Jacquemotte for our Throwback Thursday series. This poem captures the unique desire to want to destroy things that are orderly and break free of living a life in which we always need to follow the rules. It's a cathartic experience reading how Jacquemotte describes in detail what she'll destroy and how. Her question "Who needs suburbia, who needs things neat?" resonates with us at Din as though we appreciate the privileges that come with living in the suburbs, we also relate to the urge to just want to destroy things and break free from the mold. The first few stanzas illustrate the destruction of household items and appliances but shifts to more personal things as the poem goes on. The destruction of a home cooked meal is followed by the destruction "your little niece's kindergarten drawings" until finally, the destruction of self with the narrator swapping identities with the reader and shaving their head and quitting their job. It's a fitting end for the poem as it makes us pause and think "maybe I should quit my job and get a new look."
Jacquemotte's language and word choice are also stellar. The use of "let's" and "we" throughout the poem invites the reader to join in these acts of rebellion, subtly making the theme even more infectious. Her use of repetition drives home the theme as each stanza begins with "Let's destroy something. Let's destroy." And her general writing style is poetic as the whole poem flows nicely and is pleasing to read as it has this steady rhythm made by internal rhymes and short words. We hope you enjoy this poem as much as we do because we love it.
Written by Javier Gallegos.
Let's Destroy Something
By Michelle Jacquemotte
Let's destroy something. Let's destroy every- thing. Let's gather all the furniture in the house and arrange it into a big pile in the back yard, toss in our favorite shoes, light it on fire, then sit in empty rooms, barefoot on the cold floor. Let's destroy something. Let's destroy some- thing expensive. Let's drive to your mom's and wreck everything in her china cabinet, break each blue Japanese plate, smash each hand painted glass elephant to the ground. Let's destroy something. Let's destroy some- thing electronic. Let's go to wal-mart and melt ice cream over keyboards, cut headphones into pieces, put ipods and cell phones into blenders, then run over the stubborn parts with our cars. Let's destroy something. Let's destroy some- thing homemade. Let's make a breakfast: french toast and eggs; let's dress up, and set the table with tea lights from a French café, then we'll Frisbee toss it over the fence, into the neighbors' backyard swimming pool. Let's destroy something. Let's destroy some- thing lovely. Let's draw hard in thick black crayon all over your little nieces' kindergarten drawings, smudge out the person with three legs, the purple two headed triceratops, the girl with a flower for an eye. Let's destroy something. Let's destroy every- thing. Better yet, let's destroy ourselves. Let's swap identities; shave my head bald, you'll grow yours out long, and strawberry. I'll wear an army patch on my sleeve, spin you in circles on the dance floor by your pinky. Let's quit our jobs; you'll walk into your boss's office, naked, singing The Miss America song, then we'll give away our house keys to the first person we see on the street. Because who needs suburbia, who needs things neat? Everything put together will eventually fall apart; Let's destroy ourselves, Let's disassemble from the start.
Photo by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos is senior majoring in journalism at NMSU. He has been writing poetry and prose for the past four years on his free time and has hopes of one day getting a book of his own poetry published. As for his main career, Javier plans on becoming a photojournalist and working for a newspaper once he graduates in May 2022.
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