Bachelorette• Show poetry

"I can see myself wrecking and ruining, but I can't stop myself."
---Phoebe (Elle Fanning)
from Phoebe in Wonderland, written by Daniel Barnz

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"Introduction to Poetry"
Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.


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"Evaluation of an Unwritten Poem"
Wisława Szymborska

In the poem's opening words
the authoress asserts that while the Earth is small,
the sky is excessively large and
in it there are, I quote, "too many stars for our own good."

In her depiction of the sky, one detects a certain helplessness,
the authoress is lost in a terrifying expanse,
she is startled by the planets' lifelessness,
and within her mind (which can only be called imprecise)
a question soon arises:
whether we are, in the end, alone
under the sun, all suns that ever shone.

In spite of all the laws of probability!
And today's universally accepted assumptions!
In the face of the irrefutable evidence that may fall
into human hands any day now! That's poetry for you.

Meanwhile, our Lady Bard returns to Earth,
a planet, so she claims, which "makes its rounds without eyewitnesses,"
the only "science fiction that our cosmos can afford."
The despair of a Pascal (1623-1662, note mine)
is, the authoress implies, unrivalled
on any, say, Andromeda or Cassiopeia.
Our solitary existence exacerbates our sense of obligation,
and raises the inevitable question, How are we to live et cetera,
since "we can't avoid the void."
"'My God,' man calls out to Himself,
'have mercy on me, I beseech thee, show me the way...'"

The authoress is distressed by the thought of life squandered so freely,
as if our supplies were boundless.
She is likewise worried by wars, which are, in her perverse opinion,
always lost on both sides,
and by the "authoritorture" (sic!) of some people by others.
Her moralistic intentions glimmer throughout the poem.
They might shine brighter beneath a less naïve pen.

Not under this one, alas. Her fundamentally unpersuasive thesis
(that we may well be, in the end, alone
under the sun, all suns that ever shone)
combined with her lackadaisical style (a mixture
of lofty rhetoric and ordinary speech)
forces the question: Whom might this piece convince?
The answer can only be: No one. Q. E. D.



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Welcome to one of my little rest areas. This is the page of the poet me. Disregard the stumbling blind; Common Sense is out for lunch.

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Not so long ago (as recent as 2008) on Thesaurus.Com, it used to be:

female (adjective): changeable, child-bearing, delicate, effeminate, effete,
                             fair, feminine, fertile, gentle, girlish, girly, graceful,
                             ladylike, maidenly, matronly, modest, muliebral, oviparous,
                             petticoat, pistil-bearing, pistillate, pure, refined,
                             reproductive, sensitive, she-stuff, shy, soft, tender, twisty,
                             virgin, vixenish, weak, womanish, womanlike

female (noun): amazon, babe, beauty, broad, cutie, dame, doll, dowager,
                      duchess, femme, filly, fox, gal, gentlewoman, girl, lady,
                      madam, mama, matron, petticoat, pinup, seductress, she,
                      siren, sis, skirt, temptress, tomato, wench

"Is the Thesaurus sexist?" by Ceri Radford
Thesaurus.com has since edited the list of synonyms for female.
The list of synonyms for lady, however, holds some interesting terms one
would obviously associate with a lady.

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What I write:

I don't write quick reads. I rarely use end rhymes and haven't used meter in a few years. I don't limit my muse to five lines; I'm not a concise poet and I'm not into overviews. I don't write poems about flowers or rivers, though they sometimes end up as characters in my pieces.

I write poems that tell stories or examine a situation or relationship. I like to use metaphors and similes, and I sometimes end up a little cryptic without meaning to. I like images and details. I like assonance, alliteration, and internal rhyme. I like great words that rarely get used, not archaic words, strong words that may not have a place in regular conversation but definitely need more stage in modern literature. I like the word "and" and use it a lot. I write because I don't talk (I don't know how), and although my poetry is me expressing my thoughts, feelings, imagination, I am always looking to improve each piece. Therefore, I love and greatly appreciate comments/reviews/feedback.

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I think sometimes I am this: Transient by the stumblingpen (also known as my sister, The Great and Powerful Beckers)

DON'T PANIC

Should you stumble upon unfamiliar words, use:
Answers.com
or
Dictionary.com

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Now that I've got you to my page,
let me lead you away again...
For those of you who are not interested in reading poetry:

I have stories at Writing.Com:
• Underpillow@Writing.Com
If you'd like to check out my other creative outlet (not writing), visit:
• Underpillow@Deviantart
And a bit of YouTube sharing (some of my fav's):
• "The Inner Life of the Cell" by BioVisions, done for Harvard University
• Pachelbel Rant by Paravonian
• "Office Space" Recut by WTMRecut
• Flight of the Conchords - Jenny (it's Flight of the Conchords...)
• Death is the Road to Awe (Clint Mansell from The Fountain soundtrack)
• Clint Mansell - Dead Reckoning (from Smokin' Aces soundtrack/wait for it...)
• 28 Weeks Later & 28 Days Later theme song by John Murphy (title says it all)

Remember to come back for poetry time.

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"If freedom of speech means anything at all, it is the freedom to say things that people do not want to hear."
       ---George Orwell

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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A couple of notes about My Lists:

Monthly Bios is a collection of poems personifying the months. At this point in time, November - August are all I have. Some are written from the perspective of the month and others as an observer.

Nine Symptoms is a collection of love poems. All personal, all unusual. The idea for the series comes from a series of photographs of the same name by Dan Estabrook. And each is dedicated to [you know who].

The Great and Powerful Beckers is engaged! Congrats, little sis. This list is a collection of my favorite pieces that she has posted and poems I have written for her. She is a great inspiration.

The Nursery Collection may sound innocent, but don't be fooled. These poems are not intended for nursery reading unless you fully plan to screw your kid up. These poems are for adults and teens. They look at fairy tales and bedtime stories in a different slant, exposing the true characters. And this series will, I'm certain, be the death of me... or, at the very least, my unhinging.

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If you managed to reach this point after having read all of the above, congratulations! You have the patience and attention span of a saint, and I appreciate you. You may now continue on to my poetry where your saintly forbearance and concentration must be readily applied. Good luck.

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