on writing

just let the words,
            galloping through
downgoing
            sloshing
                        up into
pink reverie,
            the brain.
 
 
just let the words,
            dancing around
outgoing
            ecstasy,
                        down & out
strobelight revelry,
            hurricane.
 
 
just let the words
            sink down,
quicksand
            lava flow
                        drowned
over,  quarried,
            drained
 
 
onto paper, the words,
            galloping
downgoing
            sloshing
                        up into
brain,
            paper,
                        away.
Comments & reviews · 3
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User avatar
Granger2291
Review

I absolutely love this, I think it sums up the writing process very nicely. The structure of the poem also reminds me of how I feel when I'm having a particularly bad bout of writer's block. In other words, where other poems wouldn't have necessarily gotten away with such a unique and experimental structure, this poem is improved by it, at least in my opinion. Again, I absolutely love this, I would change nothing about it.

Random avatar
Yatta!
Review
Yatta! wrote a review · Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:48 am

Okay, the first comment was an accident, but this is actually a review now. Haha.
First impression: I liked it. It has a unique use of the poetical structure, rather than grammar. I like your moxy. As my grandpappy would say, "Experiment! You're young!"
Now for the fun part...critiques!
Structure wise: I think I would reorganize your poem to match the structure of the conclusion. Because the physical structure is so precarious, you have to balance it with structure in what you are saying. hence, your stanzas should be "brain, paper, then away." Like this:

just let the words,
galloping through
downgoing
sloshing
up into
pink reverie,
the brain.


just let the words
sink down,
quicksand
lava flow
drowned
over, quarried,
drained
onto paper

just let the words,
dancing around
outgoing
ecstasy,
down & out
strobelight revelry,
hurricane.

the words,
galloping
downgoing
sloshing
up into
brain,
paper,
away.

Okay, so I just moved things around. In a way I liked structurally. I moved the "on to paper" line because I didn't like ending in a verb in the drained stanza. All your other stanzas end in nouns and it's really important to keep good structure even though you're exercising a unconventional one, kay? On a psychological note, I'm sure you must have felt something was up with that stanza too. I am confident that subconsciously your brain was unhappy with the lack of parallelism there. Remember, our minds are all about patterns.

Anyway, I could do a grammar check, but....that's boring. ;) I will leave it for the next guy. :P

-Yatta!



Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.
— Brené Brown