I Am Not A Burger Head - A Synopsis By The Author

The Poem, I Am Not A Burger Head, is possibly my finest work. Never before have I ever been able to express exactly what I was thinking, and have so many people without a sniff as to what I truly meant. So regardless of how much I understand it, nobody else does. So I present to you, a synopsis of I Am Not A Burger Head. 

Essentially the poem is describing my pain. The term Burger Head is a metaphor for the ridiculous. That people never take me seriously, and that whenever I do try to be serious, I find myself caught, exposed and naked. This is basically the main theme of the poem, however throughout the text, several minor themes to pop up, including alcoholism, and the need for one to be realistic in this world. 

The first two lines are me, introducing the reader to my  situation. How I feel ridiculed, and yet, within myself I do not see myself as ridiculous. Subconsciously, I was  pondering the concept of Appearance Vs. Reality, and this was manifest in my work. One can see how those outside of me see the ridiculous, and I may very well appear that way, however from the inside, the reality, or theoretical reality, is one of a man who merely wants to be taken seriously.

The third line, "Instead I am no burger fed" is not without meaning.  The specific, lone term burger, refers to the sustenance of life - and its ridicularity. The concept embodies that which many people now live on – The Burger. It is a sad reality and reflection of our society that day in, day out, people buy millions, if not billions of burgers from places like McDonalds, and Burger Joints around the world. Society is being flooded with these fattening products, which merely serve as sustenance – and not a growth mechanism. We as a society have become content with stagnation. There is no need for growth, no need to push forward, there is only, a need for sustenance. To retain the norm. It is indeed ridiculous.

In context to myself, the way this affects me is apparent in every day life. Every day when I get up I tell myself, if you don’t stagnate today, you won’t stagnate tomorrow. I wish for nothing but to avoid stagnation at all costs. Then the fourth line harps acceptance.

The fourth line symbolises the loss of my battle against stagnation. My friends have fallen, and are dead, they aren’t coming back. I am a lone warrior. I would say one of my worst character flaws is how easily I give up. So often, when the going gets tough, I scamper off like the little girl I am, (No Offence to Verety, or her mother intended) and essentially that is what the fourth line indicates. The realisation that I have lost this battle against stagnation, and will in fact be content with mere sustenance – and not growth.

A change in attitude ensues with the coming of the fifth line. My priorities change. No longer is my premier need to be taken seriously, or to evade stagnation. Realistically, I look at my situation, and the poet (me) realises that one cannot go through life without two things. The first is friends, and the second is confrontation. For it is through these two things that one may grow as a person, and experience life.  It become obvious at this point that the poet has no intention of avoiding these two things. And considering his friends have died, and will not come back, there is only one thing he can find solace in.

His burger. The Sustenance. It has by the 7^th and 8^th lines become my priority. As a person all I can hope for now is to stay alive. I can’t even guarantee that. Then desperation engulfs my thoughts, “I want you back for all of time”, selfish desperation. The poem still remain focused on myself, and the reader finally realises the true problem behind society’s flaws. All these perceived troubles within society, are just manifestations of the selfishness portrayed in, and throughout life today.

The final line truly sums up my existence however. I have many flaws, and there are many problems with me. My only saving grace is that I am quick to admit I have them, and quick to find help. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it, however this is where confusion over what I meant in my poem breaks out. Do all the previous themes and imagery not count? Was it all an alcohol induced philosophical debate? The answer is no. The final line is not in reference to the prior social observations. The final line portrays the world in the light I see it in. It is, in fact another social observation. Our reliance on  alcohol to get us through tough times. I speak in the first person in the last line, because I do not wish to distance myself from society. I am a part of society, and although I have flaws, they are no just mine, they are society’s, and together, we must rebuild society, and together, we must challenge all these problems.

Truth by told, the poem in question was written in under 5 minutes, and the synopsis was written over about an hour. There is no real thought behind either of them.