Proud of My Broken Heart
Proud of My Broken Heart - meaning Summary
Pride in Wounded Self
The speaker claims an ironic pride in being emotionally wounded by a beloved, treating pain and sleepless nights as badges of identity rather than mere suffering. The poem contrasts personal heartbreak with religious imagery, provocatively invoking Christ and a crucifix to measure and even appropriate the speaker’s anguish. It presents selfhood forged through hurt, mixing defiance and humility while questioning who may legitimately claim suffering or spiritual honor.
Read Complete AnalysesProud of my broken heart, since thou didst break it. Proud of the pain, I did not feel? till thee. Proud of my night, since thou, with moons, dos’t shake it. Not to partake thy passion, -my humility Thou can’st not boast, like Jesus, drunken without companion Was the strong cup of anguish brewed for the Nazarene Thou can’st not pierce tradition with the peerless puncture, See! I usurped thy crucifix to honor mine!
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