What does 'head handed' mean?
What does 'head handed' mean?
I read a poem called 'head handed' by Brenda Shanghnessy and it starts like this:
Stop belonging to me so much, face-head.
Leave me to my child and my flowers.

If possible could you tell me what face-head is too?
Thank you. :)

Question

What does 'head handed' mean?
What does 'head handed' mean?
I read a poem called 'head handed' by Brenda Shanghnessy and it starts like this:
Stop belonging to me so much, face-head.
Leave me to my child and my flowers.

If possible could you tell me what face-head is too? 
Thank you. :)

Answer

I went and read the poem in hopes of being able to answer your question, but it's not written in a way that I could make sense of it. "Head-handed" isn't a word, or an expression, that's used by anyone. Neither is "Face-head." I assume this a metaphor that means something deep and profound to the author, but not to anyone else.

Answer

Having your "head handed" to you means getting totally yelled at (sometimes it is said in a cruder way - having your "ass" handed to you, or getting "chewed out."  I am not sure if that is relevant for the poem, because I am not sure I really get the poem.  I don't know what "face-head" is, but it seems like an insult in the poem. It is not a saying as far as I know.

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