anthology of useless junk

about the most intriguing person i've met in some time; tyler you are one strong human being.

he resides in a cave basement turned makeshift bedroom

covered in three layers of vintage artifact posters

to cover cracks in drywall and stains where family portraits used to hang. 

tea tins and cigar boxes filled with figurines and cassette tapes,

denim vests covered in anarchy pins purely to negate social order,

crates of comics creased with care and yellowed with the hand of time

lay alongside worn in and comfortably glitched vinyl-

you've got to jiggle the needle a few times, but hey the record plays

and between the unintentional silences are stories. 

late at night he searches for his own narrative in the vinyl curtain

by cross processing his fiction filled mind

amazed by the mere fact that he is capable of such a task. 

like a drive-in film played a hundred times he derails for a moment, 

skips a few frames and understands that he is like the room 

in which he resides: a hodge podge of images, layered and endless, 

concealing what is below and finding ephemeral beauty in the breakdown

of everything that others disregard as trash. 

he remembers the time his sister looked him in the eye

and called him 'garbage' and all he can do is hope that one day

someone will see the beauty in his anthology brain

like he does in his consolatory collections

because what is there to believe in among a nonsensical world

other than the expanse of the human mind

and a tangible collection of useless junk. 

Reviews

[K. Louis]

Fantastic imagery in this...I love the way you described the atmosphere of his room; I felt as if I were right there with you. I also really liked the last half of the second stanza because it went a little deeper into this character and where he's coming from. Nice work.

[Dana Alsamsam]

thanks for your kind words!

[kublakhan27]

Wow, this piece is so real...the imaginative detail and personal connections not only bring the poem to life, but the very person you speak of...I come away from this piece feeling like I know him (or her? I think Tyler can be a female name as well) and wish for better things for him...maybe that has something to do with the fact we seem to have very much in common...alas, there is an element of resignation towards the end, and I guess I relate to that too...no matter how positive I try to be, that feeling of resignation is always there kicking me in the temples...good thing I got a pretty hard head haha Beautiful piece :)

[Astro]

Wow, for a second there Dana I thought you were describing my room, lol. You had it down to everything except for the vest with anarchy pins. This poem is a great work of art as it describes a man through his surroundings and not so much by his physical or, psychological picture. I wrote a poem years ago, describing a room and how it's contents and appearance were like the minds of it's inhabitants. Excellent job.

[Dana Alsamsam]

hahaha then your room sounds lovely! thank you so much.

[Astro]

You're welcome.

[Lizzi]

I loved how this read like a brilliant story. Again- the imagery is absolutely on point. You captivated me with a story about a boy I never knew yet I feel like he's somehow with me.
This was great.

[Dana Alsamsam]

thank you love!

[Corset]

I loved the line about the comic books, it gives the impression that he still believes in heros, and collections of treasures that are sentimental to him, but would be worthless to someone else, he sounds like he has lots of character, it's not a bad thing to believe in, the expanse of the mind, it's inevitable for people with true character.

[Dana Alsamsam]

yes he seriously has some true character :) an admirable being he is. thank you so much!

[Corset]

you're so welcome :)

[Clockwork]

I agree with K. Louis's assessment of your images in this one. You really do a wonderful job of painting him by defining him by the anthology of things he has. In a way, I think you have filled in the outline of his personality, which allows the readers to reasonably infer what his heart contains.

You really depict him as having eclectic taste...maybe with a dash of ingenuity mixed in. You know, the ability to make something out of the most used artifacts, such as the cigar boxes and the tea tins.

Also, it seems as if he is attempting to cut his teeth in the world, really carve out his own niche in which to live. Lines such as the first couple in the second stanza make me think that. So does line two in the third stanza, and lines 6-7 from the last stanza...he is trying to overcome a world in which those who should have loved him predetermined his worth. That has made him strike to "break the social order." At least, it has causes him to struggle against the social order he has been forced into...sounds like my kind of guy.

[Dana Alsamsam]

his collections intrigue me so! he just loves his random stuff. and i think you've hit it right on the head with the kind of guy that he is- always searching and changing and becoming what the world has made him into but rebelling against it at the same time. knowing what i do about you, i really do think you'd be friends with him :)

[Clockwork]

I think you're right about that. When I read some of the lines in here, I thought about similar experience I've had. Guys like him are normally the type I hang out with (can't really see eye to eye with the Jock pretty boys).

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Certainly sounds like an interesting guy...and you have written his life into being with this one. I love the imagery, and the way that you deviated a little for your normal style so that you could just lay out the entire story with such beautiful imagery and longer, sweeping lines. I'm always enchanted by your writes, and this one is no exception. I think that in some ways we are all like this...drawing strength where we can and living to escape the things that have scarred us.

I love the idea of "his anthology brain"...because I look at some people this way as well. Those people that you just KNOW are going to turn into something great, even if they don't know it yet themselves. Well done, Dana.

[Dana Alsamsam]

yea i haven't written anything coherent in a while and this one just suddenly came together. the structure felt right so i'm glad you enjoyed it! he definitely is something great... thank you :)

[Tomahawk Joe]

Nostalgic and also transcendent and relatable

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i think we are all a hodgepodge of images...we are all poems that are constantly in revision...

a work in progress...i like how you depict this person with his life up on the walls and in the crevasses of the place where he resides...not only physically but also in his mind.

[Dana Alsamsam]

very true- thanks for your thoughts jacob!

[Richard]

it's so good
you've done him justice ... whoever he is ...