Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 19-21
Diet on water,
On crumbs of shadow,
Bland-mannered, asking
- These lines reference the way mushrooms sprout in wet, dark places. But they also seem to reference the way women had to take the leavings of men.
- Like prisoners in some old movie, the only things they can eat is bread and water. And the bread is made of darkness. Yuck.
- The word "shadow" seems to be riffing on the idea of women being forced to stand in the shadow of the men in their lives.
- As well, "Bland-mannered" can be seen as describing the way women were stereotypically expected to behave. They were supposed to just sort of nod, smile, and have no opinions of their own—just like mushrooms, or any number of things that are non-people.