Published July 12, 2008
If you ask me what is wrong
I won't know what to say
If you ask what I want,
I will still meet you with silence.
Not completely present,
Not entirely here;
There is form
But it is flat,
The definition hidden.
All immaterial,
As a shadow.
This isn't living
It's a shadow life
And yet, like the shadow
I know the definition is still there
All those certainties
All the distinction,
Everything is still present, only
Hidden.
Something must cast the shadow, and
Light must illuminate it.
And then,
I wonder.
I wonder if the walls of glass surrounding me
Appear so clear, because there
Never were such walls penning me in;
There is no way out,
Because the prison does not exist.
I wonder,
If, when looking at my shadow,
I forget
The light that's shining, and
Who's doing the
Looking.
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Hi! Welcome to YWS!
I really liked this. I've quoted it so I can make suggestions as to punctuation you could use, in an attempt to make myself feel useful.
I'm sorry I don't have any real criticisms to make, but I don't think you need them. You express with ease a feeling that is difficult to explain, so well done.
If you ask me what is wrong--- comma?
I won't know what to say
If you ask what I want,
I still will meet you with silence.-- this line breaks the rhythm
Not completely present,
Not entirely here;
There is form
But it is flat,
The definition hidden.
All immaterial,
As a shadow.
This isn't living
It's a shadow life
And yet, like the shadow
I know the definition is still there
All those certainties
All the distinction,
Everything is still present, only
Hidden.
Something must cast the shadow, and------ these two line are very true, i like it
Light must illuminate it.
And then,
I wonder.
I wonder if the walls of glass surrounding me
Appear so clear, because there
Never were such walls penning me in;--- should use a comma
There is no way out,
Because the prison does not exist.--- very good line!
I wonder,
If, when looking at my shadow,
I forget
The light that's shining, and
Who's doing the
Looking.
i don't have much to say because this poem was good and just great,
gold star
---Jon---
only a few times did you lose the flow, but those were barely noticeable. my favorite was the very first stanza. it was so beautiful.
this piece had great emotion and expression.
at the very beginning, i wasn't sure if your varying stanza length was intentional, but i'm assuming it was (well, duh.)
the different lengths did--as said previously--added a great structure to the poem and kept the reader's attention (mine, at least).
this was an awesome poem.
great job!
-GC10
I love this poem. It has great feeling and the variation of stanza length adds an amazing structure which is easy to read.
The first stanza is amazing, i love the whole meantion about silence.
My favourite part has got to be about the non-existant prison. The way you have styled the poem is really great. I love it.
Natalie
i really like this quote and your wording itself along with the stanzas adds to its meaning to make it more clear. overall awesom.