Our heads contain worlds. Or is it just the one over and over?
People pop out to smoke cigarettes,
simper, gossip, fuck and pray.
Maggotty ideas fester – let them die –
voices assault us daily.
What is real I cannot say.
He’s tried to flirt with the mainstream.
His world always out of kilter
at an angle only he can measure,
drumming beats no one will follow.
There is no shared vision,
yet we wish horses of belonging for us beggars.
Come inside, ladies and gents!
If only you’d discover that underneath I’m much like you,
a gentler man of erudite barbs.
One read and you’ll be captivated.
I know I’ve worked so hard for this:
how can I share that knowledge, that wonder with you?
How do you keep your balance as a creative person? That is the question that Joe Hesch would like us to consider at Open Link Night on dVerse Poets. Always a sore point with me…
the pondering in the mind of the creative poet..nice thoughts..reminds me of a poem I did a while back called ‘Ash of Creativity’ which of course is loneliness a price paid for the creative mind
Just went to read that poem – and yes, it’s almost like the skin is too thin, the mind too easily destroyed… but that’s the tension, the balance, that makes creativity so enticing!
I love the idea of the worlds we have in our head & also the idea that despite exterior differences & distances, underneath people are much the same. And it seems to me that you are saying that each writer in his own way is trying to share his ‘knowledge’ with others, and sometimes it is lonely out there!
But I also wonder if a writer should make the reader aware of all the effort that has gone into the writing – should it become a display of pyrotechnics? Personally, I prefer the apparently effortless writing.
I do agree with you. Hopefully a finished poem will appear effortless, but anyone who writes would know that good poetry does not drop from the sky. Your poetry always gives food for thought. Thank you.
First I love the name of your blog,Marina, which is something so cherished by writers. This poem is very fun but sincere–a lot of darts and contrasts–he feels almost like he is physically flirting with the mainstream–but still trying to get his head above the currents. Thanks. k .
Thank you for your kind words – we all want to be successful mainstream (even if we can’t acknowledge it), but some of us are just not meant for it. And I love your elephant gravatar – my favourite animal.
But, timid souls, we stand outside.
Exactly, or else we risk going under.
This is an amazing thought… yes how can we do that… we write and we read.. but how to do it right…
How to render all that chaos going on in our heads, make sense of it and present it to the reader… If you figure that one out, do tell me…
sometimes it is hard to give that same sense of awe and wonder…and i dont think any of us are far different in that….at the core we are the same….and in that i think we can connect with each other in our writing….
I’m glad that resonated with you, Brian. I think most of us are after that glimmer of understanding in a reader’s eyes or mind.
If only you’d discover that underneath I’m much like you… YES!
Don’t we all want that connection, to be understood, even if only by a select handful of readers? Thank you, Laurie, for reading and commenting.
Marina Sofia – It’s so true that writers have a different way of looking at life – a different perspective. I wonder if, in order to really write, we have to ‘stand off” from life a bit and be observers…
Most certainly – and, I suspect, misfits as well. To a certain extent. Someone too content with life and the word will never stop to question, will they?
We’re all the same! At least for those who appreciate poetry. Only the context of situation make things different. Nice thoughts Marina!
Hank
Thank you – so pleased to see that a writer need not always feel lonely…
Love this post 😀 Thanks for sharing.
Thank you and hope to hear more from you – you’ve gone a bit quiet lately…
That I have! I had a busy summer and have been working on a lot of projects. I completely forgot about updating. The good news is I’m on my last course at college and getting ready to graduate. Hopefully looking at following some teaching abroad options. I have a few books that I’m writing/illustrating, and also have been editing some other people’s novels. Plus I’m on staff at four literary journal publications. So my hands have been full. Learning how to make time for my own work though. 😀 And as always I love reading your work.
Reblogged this on Of Glass & Paper and commented:
“The world was now dimmed, a shallow island of light floating in a vast darkness, even though it was noon…” ~ Lunar Park
You are too kind, Honoré! I am very flattered.
You have written a thought-provoking poem with a great title and an engaging opening line!
Thank you, Gabriella – the opening line was completely different to start with (still contained a head and a world, but otherwise very different).
I identify with so many aspects of this – very good work indeed.
Glad it resonated with you and thank you for your kind comment.
A cool piece!
oooh ‘maggotty ideas fester’ – meh – I love it! 🙂
My Polly and Holly combo always seem to enjoy the more sordid aspects of my poetry – bless you both!