In A Prominent Bar In Secaucus One Day Summary

X.J Kennedy’s “In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus One Day” is a poem written from a sad woman’s perspective who embraces her past with unkind arms. The theme of this poem is simply life is too short, so do not waste it. The entire poem is ironic. She tells the reader how wonderful her life used to be and then advises them to avoid the choices she made. Such as in line 15 “I had seven gold teeth and a toothpick of gold” (Kennedy 15) and then in line 33 “Keep your bottoms off barstools and marry you young” (Kennedy 33). She tries to advice young girls to marry while they are pretty and stay away from the partying lifestyle that she chose. She wasted her life, even if she does not admit it directly. While advising other people to stay away from her lifestyle she is in return shaming the life she used to have as well as the one she has now.
The spatial setting is a bar in Secaucus, New Jersey. Where high class men go to anonymously enjoy, the prostitutes provided by the bar. Be that the temporal setting is set in the 30s or 40s the act of prostitution was hidden and not talked about. Although the men of this time obviously took very good care of the girls provided in line 18 “I would drink bottle beer at the Drake, never, And dine at the Astor on Salisbury steak” (Kennedy 18). Even if this is an example of hyperbole it is still a high class life for a prostitute. Her advice at the end of the poem “‘Let you hold in mind, girls, that your beauty must pass Like a lovely white clover that rusts with its grass” (Kennedy 32). This line was defiantly written for the century it is in. 2017 is all about women empowerment, but in the 1930s woman were nothing but arm candy who’s only job was the look