Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Another Poetic Interlude..

Whilst looking for lined paper for the eldest child, I stumbled across some of my old university assignments, including a chap book of poetry for a creative writing class titled "Does Not Play Well With Others" because I am oh-so-bad-assed, you know.  There were a couple passages I enjoyed.  I'm also considering posting a couple of the essays as blog entries because I really enjoyed writing them, and I still enjoy reading them and I like the idea of getting feedback from those other than the one or two profs that got to mark them.

That all depends if I can find the doc files, because I sure as hell ain't typing out the hard copies.

In the meantime, I'll share a couple of the poems here.  There seemed to be a common thread of disliking structured poetry.

Ours Is Poetic

Ours is not so much a matter of rhyming
More a type of word splatter running
From a mind-spigot, the very timing
Of which is most important, when one most cunning
Forgets about the trying-to-say or
Gives up on wit or random punning

If all academic falsehood is removed
The barest essence of emotion left
There still, is room for a reader to be moved
For emotion lies at the depths,
Lays a foundation for some profound thing
When left unsaid, leaves the soul bereft.

The second one was part of of an assignment to write a poem called a Sestina which has the most effed-up, convoluted structure imaginable.  So like the fourth-grader that does a speech about how much they hate public speaking, I wrote a sestina about how fucking aggravating and pointless sestina-writing is.

Writing the Sestina

I'd say I've written a sestina before
but in all honesty I'd be lying
as I have never attempted a thing
so complicated as this.  I must say
It is really an aerobic feat of mind
to complete.  Really, if i had my way

I would choose to write this another way
and get myself into my warm bed before
I found myself giving a piece of my mind
to whoever came up with this.  Lying
in my bed I could dream of what I'd say
to the creator of this silly thing.

Really now, who comes up with such a thing?
Someone who sits around and thinks of ways
to make complicated methods to say
things that could be put more simply.  Before
I enjoyed poetry, I'm not lying
but writing this makes me lose my mind.

Now I'm not saying I really mind
reading the sestina and other things, 
but I get to feeling like I'm lying. 
Fitting words to metre a certain way
Since it seems the form comes well before
what I am actually trying to say.

Oh but what am I trying to say?
The original idea has slipped my mind.
I had a vague idea.  That was well before
I got wrapped up and tangled in this thing
and my message got lost along the way.
Now exhausted, I find myself lying

on the floor, when I should be lying
in my bed.  For what more could I say
on the subject, considering the way
my eyes are drooping and it seems my mind
is wandering, drifting to other things. 
I should retire, and sleep before

someone finds me lying here.  I don't mind
if perhaps they say I'm mad or something.
I was that way already, long before.

Copyright Andrea Lyn Cole 2006

9 comments:

  1. Does 'sestina' mean really long? I do like the way that your sestina was antisestina.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Poems, prose, pickles.
    The best I do is Haiku.
    You are a wordsmith.

    Enjoy your thinking.
    Amused by your way with words.
    You are a wordsmyth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. More poetry, please. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this! The most un-boring sestina I've ever read. Yes, more poetry, please. And thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love finding my old school assignments. I may have to copy you and post some stuff from back then. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh Hellz girl, I loves your brains. (not in a zombie way..YET!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love sestinas! I also love your sestina! I wrote one about a tea party with an elephant once when I was in a lecture. Fun times!

    ReplyDelete
  8. speaking of, Lori, you should come to the Zombie Walk!! BRAAAAAIIIINNNNNSSS

    Thank you Doug, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

    Marianna, look forward to reading it.

    Josh/Sarah.. I'd like to start writing more new stuff, instead of digging up the old junk, honestly.

    George, There's a link that explains the layout, which gives you an idea of why I found it frustrating, it's a really weird meter. And yes, long as well.

    ReplyDelete

Engaging in discussion and/or general sucking up.. that's where it's at!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.