You had some really beautiful imagery here and the emotion of the poem really came through- the only thing I felt didn't really work was the line "and my innocence was lost", that felt a little cliche to me, though it's just a suggestion so you can feel free to ignore it!
Posted 8 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
8 Years Ago
Thank you Asya, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and I'm glad that you had enjoy.. read moreThank you Asya, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and I'm glad that you had enjoyed it.
-David
For you, each line points to memories, emotion, and images in your mind. But for me, each line points to memories, emotion, and images in YOUR mind. The reader can only take the meaning the words suggest to them, based on their background and experience.
You lost your innocence at birth? Angels screamed? You were scorched? In what way, and where?
Because I'm not you, the piece has words, yes. But given that you provide no context, and your intent for a line never makes it past the keyboard, for me they're just words.
So unless you're trying to sound deep just for the sake of deepness, I'd advise a focus on how the words will play with the reader.
Posted 8 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
8 Years Ago
The questions you ask is what I sought to leave behind. Ambiguity and mystery, I believe, allows the.. read moreThe questions you ask is what I sought to leave behind. Ambiguity and mystery, I believe, allows the reader to reflect upon themselves and bring up certain feelings rather than trying to understand mine. Sort of like a mirror. Not something I have perfected, but I am working on it.
Indeed they are just words, but it's up to the reader to analyze them and seek what they may.
8 Years Ago
• Indeed they are just words, but it's up to the reader to analyze them and seek what they may. read more• Indeed they are just words, but it's up to the reader to analyze them and seek what they may.
In that case, here's the best poem ever written:
" " It "allows the reader to reflect upon themselves and bring up certain feelings rather than trying to understand mine." I can't claim to be the author, though, I cribbed it from the margin of a book on poetry I was reading the other day.
If you expect the reader to have a transendental experience based on your words you damn well better use words meaningful to THEM, because once you release your words into the world you, your background, and your intent become irrelevant. It's the reader and what the words suggest to THEM, based on THEIR background and understanding.
So unless that reader shares your understanding of what an angel is, why they scream, and who the speaker is, what can "An Angel screamed when I was born," mean to THEM?
Too much of that and the opening of Bunthorn's, "If You're Anxious for to Shine" (G&S Patience) will apply:
If you're anxious for to shine
in the high sthetic line
as a man of culture rare,
You must get up all the germs
of the transcendental terms,
and plant them everywhere.
You must lie upon the daisies
and discourse in novel phrases
of your complicated state of mind,
The meaning doesn't matter
if it's only idle chatter
of a transcendental kind.
And every one will say,
As you walk your mystic way,
"If this young man expresses himself
in terms too deep for me,
Why, what a very singularly deep young man
this deep young man must be!"
Striking opening. Radical imagery right off the bat.
You keep it tight, as your style tends to be. Clean lines & breaks. All of which I am a total fan of. Still peppered in some humor along with epic contrasting scenes. You keep it all spiritual and personal and human in a sense. Ask question along the way as well, and also answer your own. Colossal ending imagery. Great word as well - "perfume" to drop near the end. Nailed it.
Still a fan.
Phoenix
Posted 8 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
8 Years Ago
Thank you Phoenix, my style doesn't please everyone and may seem troublesome, but I do know some peo.. read moreThank you Phoenix, my style doesn't please everyone and may seem troublesome, but I do know some people enjoy it and that is why I continue to write.