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.

[Mark]

While I appreciate your standing up for me, Nekolas, you are 180 degrees wrong here. Jola has not plagiarized anyone. She came to me with a poem, and asked me to translate it for her, which I willingly and gladly did; this is our fourth such collaboration. As I have ZERO Polish, and Jola has very slight English, I took HER idea, and wrote a poem which encapsulated her theme. I believe you owe this delightful young lady a sincere apology, and I would deem it a personal favor if you removed your accusatory and erroneous remarks. Sincerely, Mark Teague

[Fran Marie]

According to the reviews below there is some controversy as to whom may have written this piece~

I enjoyed reading it ,and that's all I will say; however I will not rate this since I don't know the true author

or the people involved in the making of this poem~

[Jola]

The poem was corrected by my friend Mark. If you saw this poem before, give me and for other persons the side.