Post-perusing the packets of Stein and Eliot poems, I was drawn to the poem Peeled Pencil, Choke, by Gertrude Stein. This exceptionally short work, which can be found on page seventeen of the Tender Buttons edition handed out in class, is comprised of three monosyllabic words: “Rub her coke.” Though this phrase sounds more like some sort of ambiguous command than a poem, the words themselves come with their own unique connotations, which is what captured my attention. After seeing this poem for the first time, this simple clause became locked in my mind, and I could not stop thinking of those words. Sometimes they seemed to blend together to me, almost like “rubber coke,” or some similar variation. However, when really thinking of the individual words in the sentence, the pairing of “rub” and “her” stand out as almost sexual in nature, though having the word “coke” follow the charged duo almost seems to dispel any sense of sensuality whatsoever. This unique juxtaposition is what brought me back to Peeled Pencil, Choke so many times.