Summary

In “Ode to Masturbation,” the speaker asserts that “you/ were never/ holy,” and goes on to say that sometimes one’s hand is all one has to “hold/ yourself to this/ world” (61). He recounts fragmentary scenes of sex in a parking lot, and says that while some people call sex and masturbation just part of being human, he sees it as ”the briefest form/ of forever” (63). He then describes the way the lines of the poem look, and as well as his search for an unnamed “you” in various American towns. In the final section of the poem, the speaker assures the reader that masturbation and one’s sexuality should not be feared, and that “the lord cut you/ here/ to remind us where/ he came/ from” (66).

“Notebook Fragments” is a series of loosely connected lines which reference the speaker’s family, sexuality...