#35: Cascando by Samuel Beckett (Critical)

Cascando by Samuel Beckett
1.

why not merely the despaired of
occasion of
wordshed

is it not better abort than be barren

the hours after you are gone are so leaden
they will always start dragging too soon
the grapples clawing blindly the bed of want
bringing up the bones the old loves
sockets filled once with eyes like yours
all always is it better too soon than never
the black want splashing their faces
saying again nine days never floated the loved
nor nine months
nor nine lives

2.

saying again
if you do not teach me I shall not learn
saying again there is a last
even of last times
last times of begging
last times of loving
of knowing not knowing pretending
a last even of last times of saying
if you do not love me I shall not be loved
if I do not love you I shall not love

the churn of stale words in the heart again
love love love thud of the old plunger
pestling the unalterable
whey of words

terrified again
of not loving
of loving and not you
of being loved and not by you
of knowing not knowing pretending
pretending

I and all the others that will love you
if they love you

3.
unless they love you

 
 
I really liked this poem a lot especially after we went over it in class. This peice in particular made me really appreciate Absurdism poetry and everything poets who write in this genre are trying to achieve with their work. I think the concept of this poem was interesting and I found myself getting into it because I felt like I could relate. I loved all the repetition and the fact that it was broken up into numbered sections. I enjoyed the peice as a whole but the lines that stood out for me were "If you do not love me I shall not be loved/If I do not love you I shall not love". The way he phrased it was so simplistic yet for me it was very profound all at the same time.

#34: Dancing by Elisa (Free)

Dancing by Elisa

Verse: Time is gonna take my mind
and carry it far away where I can fly
The depth of life will dim my temptation to live for you
If I were to be alone silence would rock my tears
'cause it's all about love and I know better
How life is a waving feather

Chorus: So I put my arms around you around you
And I know that I'll be leaving soon
My eyes are on you they're on you
And you see that I can't stop shaking

Verse: No, I won't step back but I'll look down to hide from your eyes
'cause what I feel is so sweet and I'm scared that even my own breath
Oh could burst it if it were a bubble
And I'd better dream if I have to struggle

Chorus

Breakdown: I'm dancing in the room as if I was in the woods with you
No need for anything but music
Music's the reason why I know time still exists
Time still exists (3xs)

Chorus (2x)

#33: Confessional Poem (Critical)

I really liked the different forms we were introduced to in class by (Jenna, Ashley, and Deborah). I thought all of them were really interesting alothough I don't know if I'll ever attempt to write in those genres I can say that I've come to appreciate them. We were asked to write a confessional poem prior to class. I'm not entirely sure I did it correctly but I sort of like what I did come up with.

My prompt: Being beaten by your father

I feel the torch of pain as thousands of fire ants feast on my left jaw,
that was for missing curfew yesterday.
A train rams into my ribcage at full speed over breakfast.
I should have known lumpy grits wouldn't meet your approval
A black eye hides under my dark sunglasses.
Everyone thinks I'm trying to set a new trend; after all
only celebrities can get away with shades indoors.
Broken collarbone-another trip to the E.R.
I'm so clumsy. I'm always falling down steps and
running into things.
A teacher notices a bruise and asks if everything's alright at home.
I feign disbelief and rather convincingly I might add.
She still wants a parent/teacher conference.
You show up and turn on the charm like you often do with strangers.
Mom can't come...she looks even worse than I do.


When I first saw what I had to work with I really didn't know where to begin. It was kind of hard for me to put myself in that position being that I have a pretty good relationship with my father. After I finally got over that I decided to take the peice in a different direction. I wanted it to be sad and for the reader to feel sympathy for the speaker. I also wanted to make the speaker a bit sarcastic. Hopefully I got all of that across. I might include this one in my workshop packet to get  feedback from everyone.

#32: Prose Poem (Critical)

Untitled

Eyes wide open with his jaw clenched in frustration. Tonight marked the fifth night of his insomnia. It was only his third night in the unfamiliar bed. The bed that sat against the far wall of the unfamiliar room just two doors down from where the two strangers who called this place home slept contently. He looked sideways at the clock on the wobbly nightstand. It glowed in the darkness that it was 4:23. He knew it was only a matter of time before he’d be walking through the daunting double doors of his new school. He rolled over on his side and closed his eyes in vain knowing sleep was beyond the realm of reality. Two hours or so later there was a knock on the door and it opened. She entered the room and her eyes fell directly on him. He sat up and shook the monotony from his head then peeled back the covers that bound him to the bed. She sauntered out of the room before he got to his feet. As he trudged to the bathroom he tripped over his bags which he purposefully neglected to unpack.


So this is my prose poem from a couple of weeks ago. Most of you thought the details were specific and good throughout. I was glad to hear that because I spent a lot of time on that. I realized from your comments that it was really missing a lot of back story. I got a good suggestion that I could use a title to help out with that delimma. Unfortunately I haven't thought of a good one as of yet. I'm open to any suggestions if you guys can come up with any. I'm going to work on this peice for the final binder so that it reads more like a prose poem instead of mostly prose. It's going to be a challenge but I'm definitely going to try!

#31: Misguided Ghosts (Free)

Misguided Ghosts by Paramore

I am going away for a while
I'll be back don't try and follow me
I'll return as soon as possible
See I'm tryin' to find my place
It might not be here where I feel safe
We all learn to make mistakes,

And run from them, from them
With no direction
We'll run from them, from them
With no conviction

I'm just one of those ghosts
Traveling endlessly
Don't need no roads
In fact they follow me
And we just go in circles

Now I'm told that this is life
Pain is just a simple compromise
So we can we get what we want out of it
Someone care to classify
Broken hearts and twisted minds
So I can find, someone to rely on,

And run to them, to them
Full speed ahead
Oh you are not useless
We are just...

Misguided ghosts
Traveling endlessly
The ones we trusted the most
Pushed us far away

And there's no one road
We should not be the same
I'm ust a ghost
And still they echo me
They echo me in circles.

#30: Elegy for My Socks (Critical)

Elegy for my Socks

Every week I do the same ol' routine:
I slide into you out of habit then quickly forget you exist.
But you're always there for me whether you want to be or not.
You're my second shield of protection from  carpet burn, gang green and the lot.
I remember those foot races down hot pavement on sizzling summer afternoons.
Sometimes you have to go away and
it's all my fault.
If I could figure out a way not to soil you,
you wouldn't have to go to those dark places.
You're rejuvenated by that mean cycle,
only to get lost and never heard from again.
I'm left stuck with your mate haunting me like a constant
reminder of your absence.

When I thought about writing an elegy it was kind of hard for me at first. I wanted to make it personal but I've never really lost anybody that was really close to me. I've seen loss and experienced it but nothing to the point where I felt I could write something meaningful. Finally I decided I'd try to do something less serious that I thought we all could relate to.

#29: Rainman by Jamie Foxx (Free)

Since I'm really into music I wanted to find a good song that was either an elegy or an aubade. I stumbled acorss this one and I think it's a passable example for an aubade and it's not half bad to listen to either. It also reminded me of An Aubade by Timothy Steele that we read in class. So here are some of the lyrics from it.

Rainman by Jamie Foxx

Verse: There's no need for me to lay out my clothes
When she's not around there's nowhere to go
Make no attempts getting up out of this bed
I'm wanna open my eyes but i just close the curtains instead
Hook: Her thunder storms shuts my lights off
I got no missed calls maybe by tomorrow
'cause right now i just can't catch a break
Chorus: Everyday it rains when she ain't laying right here
I can feel the coolness in the air i know my chances ain't fair
Everyday it rains water breaches my window sill
Sound reaches my ear go then it reappears
Everyday it rains my heart starts drowning
My vision gets cloudy the flood moves around me
Everyday it rains no sign of the light
As the time goes by forty days and forty nights
Verse: Just when I thought i've gotten rid of you
I turn my face to your pillow that's soaked in your perfume
The water's raging no life vest and i can't swim through through no
My heart my mind and my soul it's lost somewhere in this deep blue
Repeat Chorus