i was writing a paper
on stickleback evolution,
due tuesday.
all of a sudden, my father cried,
"who wants
to see a movie?"
and herded me into the car.
you can just drop me off here,
i said, but he
wouldn't have that.
took me by the elbow and steered
me past the overpriced candy
and attractive popcorn boy.
ponyo, i said to my father,
once we had found seats.
"pan-oy."
no. paaaahn yo.
"pon-ee-yu."
i gave up.
"this is japanese?" he asked
as pink fishes with faces began
to swarm the screen.
my throat closed up but i
could not see what must've been
a bloodbath weaving
through the channels of his mind,
pictures of those island-men
and a burning shanghai
in the background, soldiers grinning
as they held up the severed
heads of nanjing women,
their mauled white breasts,
smoke, bayonets,
bodies upon bodies.
he had shown me
these photos
innumerable times,
broken the stereo twice
with his fist
when i put in a j-pop cd,
wept, "what i do to you now
is nothing compared to what
those sons-of-bitches did
to your grandparents,"
when he struck my face
for wanting to take japanese
in high school.
"this is japanese?" he asked again
and i nodded. in fact
it's miyazaki, i explained,
as if it would
change anything.
the little fish-girl on screen
swam circles in her green bucket,
backflipped, and shouted,
"ponyo loves sosuke!"
the audience cooed and we all
were hopelessly infatuated,
squealing, defenseless.
i snuck a glance
at my father and
he was definitely
smiling.
on the way home,
we stopped by wal-mart
where he bought me
a box of junior mints,
since he wouldn't let me buy one
at the movie theater.
i thought to myself,
i should write
a poem about this.
so i did.
Author notes
of course i am taking japanese in college.
-
Comments
1 - 17 of 17
-
by the way, the preview of this is inaccurate.
-
-
oh no. i'm pretty much pretending :]
-
-
uhhh, howl's
-
miyazaki is the best. poooooooooooooooonyo! how's moving castle! spirited away! this was gorgeous, as always
-
-
WHOO MIYAZAKI
the better disney :] -
-
azns do it better
-
-
-
loved the ending (:
fabulous write. you are so talented.
-
soldiers grinning
as they held up the severed
heads of nanjing women,
their mauled white breasts,
smoke, bayonets,
bodies upon bodies.
- jesus christ. your poetry is amazing.
love the last lines
-
Your use of 'herded' makes me smile - like you had no choice in seeing a movie (if I were forced to do something, that would be a pretty pleasant thing to be forced into doing ... haha).
"you can just drop me off here,
i said, but he
wouldn't have that.
took me by the elbow and steered
me past the overpriced candy
and attractive popcorn boy."
LOVE THAT. It's so ... like a teenager (that sounds like an insult and I would take it as an insult if someone said it to me, but I mean it in the best, universal way possible).
'universal' ... yeah, that's it. That's what that part is like for me. It resounds to everyone.
Your fourth stanza is (behold) ... beautiful, a word I normally use to refer to a particular Metallica instrumental solo or a fat wad of money.
"it's miyazaki, i explained,
as if it would
change anything."
That reminds me of Two and a Half Men, or really, any sitcom show that makes me laugh ... no you know what? It makes me think of how when somebody's revealed something that greatly affects both them and you (often you in a negative way), you can focus on something else about what they said, like "That was grammatically correct" instead of a real reply. Statements that explain what doesn't need or want to be explained, or just taking up conversational space without answering what wants to be answered. I like it, and understand if I do not make sense.
"i snuck a glance
at my father and
he was definitely
smiling."
I can imagine that. Love it.
The Junior Mints thing bought at Wal-Mart (budget-aware!) was a nice comic touch. Even better because it's not fictional.
Your last 4 lines are so godly.
;
-
-
hahahaha... your comments consistently make my day!
-
-
hah Oh my. It feels a little... all over the place, but I do quite like it. If you wanted to do some editing, and I'm not sure if you do, this could use a little bit of tightening and be fantastic.
And I absolutely loooooved that movie. But Miyazaki can do no wrong, right?
-
-
thank you! yes, miyazaki is beyond human judgment.
this was more like... i don't know, a blog post, than a real poem. haha. tightening is sorely needed.
-
-
I. love. this. and it was more than a pretend philosophical poem. your dad ... well, I think I'd like him.
-
-
whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!
-
-
awww, that's so sweet.
the movie looks adorable. and miyazaki's freakin' amazing.
this is really nice.
makes me happy. :]
-
haha, you already know how badly i wanted to see that movie.
loved this.
-
this is captivating.
Adding your comment:
1 - 17 of 17
