To me, parameters is an examination of fear, and how its onset can change the way you look at things. I don't think the incident with the strange man is really the point of the poem; instead, what jumps out at me is the author's change of mindset before and after the fearful incident.
Beforehand, the author had moved beyond fear, having learned to loosen the momentum of her teenage nightmares; and instead of being afraid of shadows, she learned to admire their beauty (or look at them differently). Also, she mentions that before the incident, she essentially moved through life in a care-free sort of way (without fear): surely floating serenely on the moving walkway of memory without the need to look where she is going or even over her shoulder
Then the incident brought her fistfuls of teenage nightmares. The nightmares that she had previously loosened the momentum of (let go of) now have to be held onto again. At this point, she had to take them with her into new life situations, and she noticed how they changed her outlook: there are now more shadows around everything and her vision becomes a dim flashlight that she has shake all the way to the outhouse (she is forced to look around nervously out of fear); and instead of sleeping, she lies awake in a sleeping position, because now the series of suspicious sounds are something to be feared (sounds that she might not have noticed beforehand).
The amount of imagery compacted into these words is simply amazing. I could go on about every little thing I love about this poem, but i think I have written enough. Keep writing Ani.
To me, parameters is an examination of fear, and how its onset can change the way you look at things. I don't think the incident with the strange man is really the point of the poem; instead, what jumps out at me is the author's change of mindset before and after the fearful incident.
Beforehand, the author had moved beyond fear, having learned to loosen the momentum of her teenage nightmares; and instead of being afraid of shadows, she learned to admire their beauty (or look at them differently). Also, she mentions that before the incident, she essentially moved through life in a care-free sort of way (without fear): surely floating serenely on the moving walkway of memory without the need to look where she is going or even over her shoulder
Then the incident brought her fistfuls of teenage nightmares. The nightmares that she had previously loosened the momentum of (let go of) now have to be held onto again. At this point, she had to take them with her into new life situations, and she noticed how they changed her outlook: there are now more shadows around everything and her vision becomes a dim flashlight that she has shake all the way to the outhouse (she is forced to look around nervously out of fear); and instead of sleeping, she lies awake in a sleeping position, because now the series of suspicious sounds are something to be feared (sounds that she might not have noticed beforehand).
The amount of imagery compacted into these words is simply amazing. I could go on about every little thing I love about this poem, but i think I have written enough. Keep writing Ani.