Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Bob Hicok’s "Edge" is a surreal yet poignant meditation on identity, transformation, and the unexpected ways in which small acts can shift one's place in the social order. The poem revolves around a seemingly absurd premise—a teenage boy wakes up one day with a tattoo of a stapler on his shoulder—but from this strange detail, Hicok weaves a narrative about belonging, belief, and the nature of personal reinvention.

The poem’s opening line, "One day the kid showed up with a tattoo of a stapler on his shoulder," introduces us to the protagonist’s defining trait: his sudden and inexplicable adornment of a common office supply as body art. This choice of image is both comical and disorienting. The stapler is a tool of bureaucracy, order, and utility, a far cry from the usual symbols of strength or rebellion found in tattoos of "geckoes and fish and the Incredible Hulk." The juxtaposition between the expected and the absurd immediately marks the boy as an anomaly, a figure of fascination rather than derision.

The reaction of his peers is crucial. Rather than mock him outright, they are "dazed by it," as if the presence of the stapler defies explanation. Hicok underscores the almost religious awe surrounding the tattoo with details like "the precise cursive of the word Swingline" and "the luster of the striking plate." These details elevate the mundane to something worthy of reverence, subtly aligning the boy’s tattoo with religious iconography—particularly the later comparison to "the body of Christ… on the thigh of St. Barthelme of Flours."

From this moment of bewilderment, the boy’s social fortunes improve in small but significant ways. He "got the last pizza at lunch," a seemingly minor victory that in the social economy of high school is anything but. Even more transformative is his interaction with a girl at the fountain: "he was touched on the wrist by a girl," a moment that "made him believe he was real in a way breathing never had." The simplicity of the phrase "he was touched" resonates deeply, as it suggests that for the first time, he feels seen, acknowledged, and included in the world around him. The tattoo, rather than being a mark of ridicule, becomes a talisman of social acceptance.

The poem then charts his rise in status. He "stopped feeling he lived on the wrong side of the mirror," suggesting that he has long struggled with a sense of invisibility or alienation. His newfound recognition extends to symbolic markers of power: his name appears on ballots in an election, the "guy with the red Camaro" lets him choose the music, and, in an almost mythical gesture, he stands in French class to ask if "Monique and Evette would join him Saturday on the sailboat." This is an astonishing moment of transformation, as it reveals that a character who has previously spoken only "comment allez-vous?"—the most basic and impersonal of phrases—now moves with a confidence that shakes both teacher and students. That "the teacher cried" and "the students sang the Marseillaise" adds an element of exaggerated theatricality, reinforcing the idea that the boy’s transformation is something more profound than a simple boost in popularity. His sudden eloquence and assertiveness seem to transcend his previous self, as if the tattoo has acted as a catalyst for his latent potential.

Hicok’s inclusion of St. Barthelme of Flours solidifies the poem’s religious undertones. St. Barthelme’s "body of Christ" apparition, like the boy’s tattoo, appears suddenly and without explanation. Yet while St. Barthelme is "stoned to death," the boy experiences no such martyrdom—his ascension is not met with violence, but rather with an invitation to homecoming. This contrast underscores the idea that transformation in a modern context does not require suffering in the way it might have in religious or historical narratives. Instead, the boy moves toward a new kind of social sanctification, dressed in "a tux with blue cumulus cuffs"—a dreamy, almost celestial image that reinforces his ascension into a new status.

Structurally, the poem moves with a fluid ease that mirrors the boy’s transformation. There are no stanza breaks, and the sentences are often long and winding, moving effortlessly between the surreal and the mundane. This uninterrupted flow mimics the seamlessness of change—how identity, confidence, and social perception can shift without clear demarcations.

Ultimately, "Edge" is about the unpredictability of transformation and the power of belief—both in oneself and in the symbols that others imbue with meaning. The stapler tattoo, which begins as an oddity, becomes a mark of distinction, a portal through which the boy moves from alienation to confidence. Hicok captures the strange logic of adolescence, where the arbitrary can become the sacred, and where an inexplicable moment—whether a touch on the wrist or a seemingly random act of self-expression—can tilt the axis of a life.

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