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americanorgy posted an update in the group
Sex and Literature 9 years, 9 months ago Just finished First Fig by Edna St. Vincent Milay:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!By at least one account, this poem was written about a threesome in which Milay was laid at both ends by a couple of male members. I’m sure it was a lovely light . . .
Okay, so Mr. Orgy, I fancy myself a bit of a poet…after looking through a myriad of dissections on this poem, I’ve yet to encounter anyone who agrees with you. That isn’t to say you’re wrong–poetry is open to interpretation, of course. So I’m interested–can you take me, line by line, down the delicious path of your mind and tell me how you see this poem as a piece about a threesome?
The timing of the poem corresponded with a well documented threesome between Ms. Millay, the future critic Edmund Wilson and John Pearle Bishop from Vanity Fair. One took the top and one took the bottom — Ms. Millay becomes the candle and the rest is history.
We’ll agree to disagree. It may very well be a reconstruction of the threesome, but even in metaphor, one can’t take things too literally, wouldn’t you agree? A bit “on the nose” for my taste.