The Man of Stone

" ...a joint writing project-- concept and original poem by Jola S...; English interpretation by Mark Teague"

 

The Man of Stone/Posag/ 

While walking through the Park,
A little before dark,
I came upon a Statue that I'd seen on other walks.

I swore, upon it's cheek
A tear began to leak
And in my mind the Man began to talk!

"Once I, like you, was free
To stroll beneath the trees
And laugh, and love, and live a hundred Joys."

"But in my heart I chose
To have no part of those,
To not be like those other girls and boys!"

"So cold had grown my heart,
I could not let love start
Then one day I woke, and I was made of stone!"

"I'd lost my final chance
To live, to laugh, to dance--
Was fated now to spend my days alone!"

"Now, I see you every day
You chance to pass this way,
Ever alone, without a friend or beau,

"I hope to make you see
That what's happened to me
Is NOT the way you want your life to go!"

And now my eyes are red
At the things that Statue said;
He has shown me what I needed to replace!

Now, no more solo walking
I seek rather friends, and talking
Since I saw that tear upon that Statue's face!

jola  and mark teague
October 23, 2009

Reviews

[Ellen Hammond]

I like the rhyme and flow of this poem almost as much as I love the idea, the concept, the theme of it.

Since Mark has stated that he helped you translate it, but it was your idea, your muse, Jola, I see no plagiarism involved. As David Lewis Paget stated, it is not uncommon for editors to assist in the reconstruction of poetry or other books, especially when translating them into English. And it seems Mark was acting in that capacity for you. If it is supposedly copied from Mark, and HE is not screaming plagiarism, why would someone else take it upon themselves to do so in such a public and humiliating way?

I once sent a poem I wrote to a poet friend to get her opinion on a verse I added to it because one line just didn't seem to fit. She suggested that I change one word from what I had written, to one she gave me that fit it so much better. Would I have been accused of plagiarism for using the word she suggested? Since most words have been around for centuries, are we all then copying someone else's work by simply using words that were formed by someone else? I hope I made my point, and this misunderstanding can be straightened out before it gets out of hand.

[Samuel Dickens]

Very nice writing, Jola, and a good lesson for life. There are those who fear relationships or social activities so much that they become as stone.

[MarkGMelvin]

Beautiful,I love the lesson in this,great write.

[Tony]

Through the harshest of consequences humans are driven to acknowledge beauty.
A grave reality in an attractive presentation.
Nice!

[Arthur Crow]

This is my favorite poem of yours...... I seriously love it to no end. It is profound and rich in emotion, it was like I was reading about my own destiny. Just a sensational scribe, beautiful melancholy bleeding forever.

[cest la vie]

What a wonderful poem with an equally powerful message. Life is meant ot be shared with frinds and loved ones. Very nice job here Jola!

[bluessadmood]

I really dont understand what Plagiarism really means..
First everybody down there they are all right in what they say..
If someone come to a great work and tried to steal the heart of it and reshape it in another form
and publish it somewhere else..then two possibilities only..either the reshaping will be very nasty and devoid of any life or
real art,or he is so good to reshape it in a very creative way and in this way he just took the idea and brought another
brilliant work to life..so he is a creative person too..no one ,and I repeat even ,no one could steal a work..this is not
something easy to copy and take it somewhere else to sell..he needs to be also a great writer and really good at it
to add to it and bring it in another lovely shape..and here there is nothing wrong for he brought another creation into being
I dont really understand these people saying someone took a word here and there or a meaning..no one could steal art
it will show right away..and its never nice to accuse people,for if there is any guilt it will show by itself,and no need to defame others
this was really a great write and the circumstances made all learn a lot about writing..its very creative job ,nobody could take it from you
lovely write..

[emmajoy]

Words are words are words. But, it is not the words that matter .. it is the thoughts of the person who brings them to life - they are YOUR dreams on paper or on the computer.

Keep writing your poetry .. and, with great pride .. plus, with any help willingly offered.

Your poem has a great moral to teach .. the thoughts behind it are deep: people need to love and care for each other .. being alone is not how life should be.

[Tony]

Awesome piece Jola, I love the idea here, the lesson learned of how the heart can turn to stone and if we allow too much time to pass us by, we may never be able to turn that cold stone into a warm and loving relationship. Beautiful.
This is how we have all learned to write better poetry...asking others for assistance. There is nothing wrong with that.

Antony

[David Lewis Paget]

Plagiarism is a serious charge, and one that shouldn't be bandied around without due consideration. It is not uncommon for editors to assist in tidying up or helping in the reconstruction of poetry - or prose if it comes to that. If it was that simple, one could point the finger at any number of writers. Australia's own Henry Lawson had lines and words changed in the final edits by editors of 'The Bulletin'. Most notably, T.S. Eliot submitted 'The Wasteland' to the poet Ezra Pound for his help, and Pound basically reconstructed this mammoth work, excising whole chunks of the original manuscript. Does this make T.S. Eliot a plagiarist? Does this mean that Ezra Pound should be credited with 'The Wasteland'? Of course not!
Colleen McCullough's 'Thorn Birds' was ripped apart by the American publishers before publication, whole chapters changed, characters resurrected from the dead, and the ms reconstructed to appeal to American audiences before they would put it to print. But it was still Colleen McCullough's work!
Mr La Stanza should be less hasty in making such sweeping statements.