the manhunt

• 'the manhunt'


  the definite article in the title shows that this is a personal story
• 'after the first phase'


  there will be multiple phases to this mental state
• 'after passionate night and intimate days'


  rhyming couplet emphasises intimacy and fragmented lines mirror mental state
• 'would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face'


  metaphor for physical and mental scars that he kept to himself
• 'only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw'


  shows his physical wounds and he became more comfortable over time
• 'porcelain collar bone'


  emphasises his fragility
• 'rudder of a shoulder blade'


  inanimate object showing he's trying to find direction
• 'parachute silk of his punctured lung'


  parachutes don't work if they are punctured, and they are meant to keep you alive
• 'climb the rungs'


  showing the steps taken by the couple towards recovery and healing
• 'feel the hurt'


  she can empathise with him, it's impacted them both
• 'skirting along'


  treading on eggshells, trying not to do anything to reverse their progress
• 'foetus of metal'


  symbolic of the new chapter in their lives
• 'sweating, unexploded mine'


  he is this way because of war, have to be careful as it is unexploded