Hot Pursuit

By Amy King

The thing to do with a pretty girl
is own her outright,
edge your way in
with deeds, a few vows,
own her
with every fire
you land smartly in,
turn into flames,
the flickers of your red licking

In the midst of tutelage
walks the small of a back
unnoticed, unstroked,
the spine neglected
by a child’s grasp,
a lover’s pressure
as promised:
find her here by your heated hand—

Maybe the sky will shine
or clouds sound freely:
hold hard a heady thrust
untyped, letter-bound,
payback with motion
that makes even smoke burn
and our stories run
together turning to poems
that find us, bring us apart,
both ends fitted, fire based.

The poem Hot Pursuit by Amy King is an angst laden portrayal of how a romantic relationship turns oppressive.
The speaker of this poem is a woman who has been taken in by a man. The tone is one that is quite angry, bringing to light a cynical, universal conjecture about the everyday miseries of a romantic relationship. We know the tone of the poem is an angry one right off the bat with the initial line, "The thing to do with a pretty girl is own her outright." Evidence of anger is absolutely present in this idea. The poem discusses through its sob story style devices how oppression from one party of the relationship occurs.