Leah Nagle - Week 9 - Pick a Poet (Rachel Long) - “Sandwiches”

When searching for a poem to write this week’s poetry blog on, I came across the poem, “Sandwiches”  by Rachel Long. This poem is about a young girl helping her friend put on makeup and giving her tips on how to impress boys. I have to be honest, I didn’t really want to write on this poem because it is a little sexual, but I think the message behind is important to discuss.

This poem talks about how these girls feel the need to wear a lot of makeup and stuff their bras in order to impress boys. It always saddens me when I hear about girls doing these kinds of things. I truly believe that every girl has natural beauty, they don’t need to put out a fake image of themselves. The majority of boys end up falling for a girl when she is just herself. I feel like if a boy doesn’t appreciate a girl naturally, he’s not worth her time. I just wish more young girls would understand this.

Right at the end of the poem, Long hints at feeling this societal pressure. “[M]y eyes, how they weep!” (line 14) implies how the pressure girls feel to look unnaturally beautiful and be the image of perfection is incredibly damaging to their self-esteems.

I really liked this poem! It’s worth the read, if you have some free time, I recommend reading it! 


What do you think about girls feeling societal pressure to be the image of perfection?



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