One Flesh Elizabeth Jennings

Main ideas: The poet is exploring the relationship of her parents, who have now grown old. Whilst the relationship used to be physical they are 'lying apart now', and yet in the final stanza she shows how their relationship is still there, and yet now in a more emotional and spiritual sense. It is as if their shared experiences and memories and also the silence between them now joins them together in a more permanent way.

Language- There is a reference to the Bible in the title, where it says 'one flesh'. This links to the theme of love in the poem, because it is showing how whilst their flesh may not be joined physically, they are still joined spiritually. However, the title is also used in the first stanza to suggest how it doesn't seem right that they are lying apart, because in the Bible…