Greedy — Summary

I've given you everything

What more could I give Tell me

What should I have done When you left me nothing but pain.

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Here a speaker confronts someone who has taken from them again and again. The title, "Greedy," points at the person being addressed, though the poem never describes them directly. We only learn what they did through the speaker's reaction.

The opening line is flat and final: "I've given you everything." Then comes a question, "What more could I give," followed by a blunt demand, "Tell me." It sounds like someone who is worn out and almost pleading for an answer. The last lines turn the question around. If the speaker has given all they had and received only pain, what else could they have done?

The mood is raw and weary, with hurt sitting just under the anger. The short lines and bare wording leave no room for decoration, which makes the speaker's exhaustion feel real. The poem ends on a question rather than a resolution, so the sense of being wronged stays unanswered.

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