Threat

Debate on Leonard Cohen's poetry (and novels), both published and unpublished. Song lyrics may also be discussed here.
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sophiazz
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 11:59 am

Threat

Post by sophiazz »

This is a threat
Do you know what a threat is
I have no private life
You will commit suicide
or become like me

It's an interesting little poem. The writer says clearly that it is a threat then immediately tries to make sure that we are appreciating what is meant by a threat.
I think that a threat is something that you use to keep someone from doing something or to go in one direction rather than another and it implies that harm will come if a particular direction is taken.
Here the harm seems to be one that the writer is keenly aware of and wanting someone else to avoid out of concern for them.
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