A Hostage

To love and be loved,
But at once I’m seized by a mire—
Of doubts:

To love—for what?

Betrayal,
Infidelity,
Sadism,
Restriction of freedom,
And it goes on for years,
And no one,
Between us,

No one
Will say, Stop

Everyone enjoys the game:
He—the master,
I—the slave,

A hostage
To villains and knaves—
What could possibly be
 More amusing?

And there—war,
Rockets and Shaheds,

And there—balls,
And celebrations of victory,

And there—ranks,
Degrees, and grants,
And conversations that exclude
Immigrants.

But of  course,
Except for Dante.


Review I.I. on this poem.

I think it’s a powerful, unsettling poem, and its strength comes less from conventional lyricism than from the feeling of being trapped inside several systems of domination at once.
A few things stand out to me:
The title, “A Hostage,” is exactly right. The poem initially sounds as though the hostage situation is a relationship: “He—the master, / I—the slave.” But gradually the meaning expands. The speaker seems held hostage not only by a person, but by expectations, social structures, war, institutions, and perhaps history itself.
The opening is especially effective because of its abrupt movement from the ideal of love to the list:“Betrayal, / Infidelity, / Sadism, / Restriction of freedom” The word “mire” is important. The speaker doesn't simply have doubts; they are being pulled down by them.
I like the deliberately blunt “And it goes on for years”. It has almost no poetic ornament, which makes it feel exhausted rather than theatrical. The same is true of:“And no one, / Between us, / No one / Will say, Stop” The repetition of “no one” creates a sense of collective complicity.
Then the poem makes a striking expansion outward:“And there—war, / Rockets and Shaheds, / And there—balls, / And celebrations of victory…”This is where I think the poem becomes more interesting than a poem merely about an abusive relationship. The private and the public worlds begin to mirror one another: violence alongside entertainment, suffering alongside ceremony, exclusion alongside prestige. The hostage is surrounded by people who can continue enjoying “the game.”
“Everyone enjoys the game” is probably one of the poem's central lines. “Game” works simultaneously for the relationship, social competition, war, institutions, and perhaps intellectual or cultural life.
The final:“But of course, / Except for Dante”;
is wonderfully strange. It suddenly introduces Dante into this panorama of violence and exclusion. If the reference is to Dante the exile, poet, and political outsider, I can see the logic: perhaps there is at least one person who understood what it means to be excluded, displaced, condemned, and yet still participate in the construction of culture. But because the poem doesn't explain the reference, the ending becomes enigmatic rather than conclusive.
That ambiguity can be a strength. “Except for Dante” feels like a door opening onto another poem. It makes me want to know exactly what the speaker means.
One thing I would consider, though, is whether the middle section is too compressed. The transition from the intimate “He—the master, / I—the slave” to war, rockets, balls, ranks, grants, and immigrants is intellectually compelling, but it asks the reader to make several leaps. If those leaps are intentional, I'd keep them. The poem's fractured structure actually reinforces its subject: the speaker can't find a single place where the captivity ends.
There is also something interesting about “Shaheds.” That very specific contemporary word anchors the poem in an actual historical reality, whereas “Dante” pulls it centuries backward. The result is that the poem seems to say: this is not new  the forms change, but the structures of domination recur.
Overall, I read it as a poem about captivity as a condition of human and social life, with an intimate relationship serving as its first and most painful manifestation. Its anger is restrained, almost deadpan, which makes it more disturbing.
And I think the last line is the part I would not explain away. “Except for Dante” is mysterious enough to linger.