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Old 04-23-2003, 05:01 AM   #1
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Posts: 4
Mad Hatter
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A poem, some critique would be nice.

Fumbling around the thought
An exit I have sought
The only witness to my demise
Helpful words with empty eyes
I promised I wouldn’t
Maybe I shouldn’t?
Isn’t it my choice to come then go?
You loved me dearly, this I know
Like the bullet in this gun
My heart is steel, sealed with shun
Sinking, screaming, slipping
I have fallen into your sadistic cage
Hurt grown with time and age
You may never know what you meant to me
I will shoot the gun, and let it be
Seal with a sugar sweet kiss
Do not cry, and do not miss
A one way trip, I must now take
I shall leave a world, where love is fake
Goodbye, farewell
Love always, Rose bell
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I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad. The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.
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Old 04-24-2003, 02:22 PM   #2
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Posts: 8
counterglow
Poetry is something that normally invites a lot of interpretation. There is no narrator to explain what the lines meant, no context (generally speaking) and no way to understand the poem, but through the poem itself.

Even in poems that may be unclear in meaning at first (for example "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams) the reader KNOWS something is important. Just by the words used, and the POSITION of the words. Yes, position. Even punctuation. I know that it's acceptable to play fast and loose with proper grammar and syntax while righting poetry, but I sress: not at the expense of the poem's idea and purpose.

That said, I don't think there's anything "wrong" with this poem. Not that I say it's perfect...but poetry can be incredibly subjective. And for me to say that this line or that line is "wrong"...well...it isn't right. What I mean is that there is room for improvement.

First, consider your rhyme scheme. As an English major, who studied modern poetry (Pound, Williams, Eliot, etc) there was something reiterated again and again: form matches function.

The FORM of the poem will MATCH it's main theme/idea/purpose.

What do I mean by that?

Nursery Rhymes are generally rhymed couplets. This is not a sweet, innocent poem. But because of the incredibly blatant rhyme scheme, the poem is restricted. It is forced into regularity. Which doesn't fit this poem. In my opinion, of course.

The narrator FEELS trapped, this is true. But the rhyme scheme slips into a "duh duh dah dah dee dee" and it takes away from the struggle. This poem is about STRUGGLE. Let the poem struggle with itself. Let it fight those "restraints". And then finally, just as the narrator is resolved...let the poem be resolved as well.

Poetry doesn't have to be flowery language, thee's and thou's and words jumbled for the sake of rhyme scheme or meter (I'm glad we no longer have to worry about iambic pentameter or dactylic hexameter...I'd never want to write poetry *L*)


Of course...you don't have to listen to a word I say. Just a few suggestions.

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So far away from where I was
Or is it where I should be
And I couldn't get there because
I'm looking behind me

[--excerpt from a poem by me]
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Old 04-25-2003, 07:28 PM   #3
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Location: In the Land of Make Believe
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False Dawn
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I think Counterglow is right on his points. The rhyming really does restrict it, and takes away the rhythm - you seem to have concentrated more on making sure there were rhyming couplets than a suitable, regular rhythm. I'm not so sure about the idea that rhyming couplets can only mean innocent poems - it's true that they do in many instances, but sometimes the poet can mould it to mean what he wants. There is always an emphasis on the final word of the line if there are rhyming couplets and if these are constantly words like "dead" and "gone", then it would certainly not give an innocent feel to it.

As for the meaning to the poem, I don't think there really needs a set one. I think that the poet can write what he wants and feels, and it's up to the reader to interpret it.

I must compliment you greatly on one point though, Mad Hatter. The line: "Sinking, screaming, slipping" was done brilliantly. It broke from the rhyming structure and really stood out with its emotive pattern of three with added sibilance for good luck. That should stay untouched in any redrafts you plan to do.
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Old 04-29-2007, 05:25 PM   #4
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emsyjean is on a distinguished road
At the moment it seems a bit 'high school journal'. It's nice, but craves a bit more depth.
A good start though I reckons...
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