z

Young Writers Society


E - Everyone

Time

by Clarity


Tendrils of smoke billow out,
the window panes are smudged.
Soot stains the pure white outline,
of the house that time made still.


Walking down the borderline,
gunshots ring out loud.
Childrens cries haunt the town,
year in and year out.


Clouds cover the sun,
but heat still fills the street.
Flames are lighting up the land,
igniting that memory peak.


Hills of green,
are turned to brass.
With all still staring out;
this passageway to living hell.


Pain and sorrow made this place,
what it is today.
A site filled with memories,
from the people burned averse.


Frozen on the edge of home,
no one left to love.
I walk away from my home,
that time never let go.




Here is my second draft.


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Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:47 am
Wherethewindgoes wrote a review...



Salutations. I have come hither to review!

I like the poem, and I think the content is good. However, some of the lines do really well at conveying the meaning, but some of them could be made better, more powerful. Some words are everyday, mundane words that are used to describe things that the narrator views as important and is presumably feeling a lot of emotion about. In order to make that reader understand that emotion, these could be reworded in more meaningful ways.

Tendrils of smoke billow out,
the window panes are smudged.
Soot stains the pure white outline,
of the house that time made still.


I feel as if the first line could be written better, to catch the readers' attention more. For instance, something like "fingers of smoke crawl around the door frame", some sort of metaphor that catches the attention of a reader.

The last line also sounds as if it could be worded better. It sounds a bit...stilted, perhaps. Mayhaps reword it to something such as "of the house that stands still in time", or something. Time making it still doesn't really make sense.

Walking down the borderline,
gunshots ring out loud.
Childrens cries haunt the town,
year in and year out.


"Childrens" needs an apostrophe before the "s".

Also, I would change the last line of this stanza. The imagery of this house is much more significant, to me, when the narrator is standing there, looking at the house. "Year in and year out" implies that the narrator is seeing it over time, that this is just a description of the house, which to me isn't as powerful as a person returning home after years away and looking at what has happened to the town.

Clouds cover the sun,
but heat still fills the street.
Flames are lighting up the land,
igniting that memory peak.


I'm not sure what you mean by "igniting that memory peak". Perhaps reword that to get your meaning across better?
Also, in the second line, I would suggest a word other than "fills", which sounds a bit dull. Perhaps "floods the street" or "shimmers in the air" or something.

Hills of green,
are turned to brass.
With all still staring out;
this passageway to living hell.


I'm not sure what the last two lines mean, exactly, with the semi-colon there. I imagine you are saying they are staring out the passageway to Hell (which, incidentally, I would suggest capitalizing), in which case the line would be better without a semi-colon.

Pain and sorrow made this place,
what it is today.
A site filled with memories,
from the people burned averse.


To me, "pain" and "sorrow" are weak words to describe the events here that made the place what it is. I would suggest something with more meaning contained in it, such as "tears" or "shattered hearts" or something. The same goes for "a site filled with memories". Perhaps "streets choked with forgotten stories" or something that conveys that sort of emotion and meaning.

Also, I don't think "averse" is the word you want here. Averse is an adjective meaning having an active feeling of repugnance or distaste, but here you want an adverb. I'm not really sure what you're trying to say with "averse", but there are certainly other words that would work better.

Frozen on the edge of home,
no one left to love.
I walk away from my home,
that time never let go.


Here, I would suggest changing one of the uses of "home". It sounds a bit repetitive the way it is. Perhaps "frozen on the edge of time" or something?


So, all in all, the poem is good, and has a lot of meaning. With more powerfully worded phrases, though, I think you have the potential to convey a lot more feeling and emotion and engage the reader more. Good luck with any future poems!




Clarity says...


Thanks for the review, but I think you mis-understood what I was doing. It's a kind of abstract take on a matter, so my wording was purposful. I also do not want the readers to look too deep into the poem, looking too deep ruins the concept. Thanks anyway.



Kafkaescence says...


Poems are meant to be looked at deeply! After all, a poem should be more than a collection of pretty words.



Clarity says...


I know poems are meant to be looked at deeply. I was saying that I do not want my poem to be overly deeply read. If it was it would completely overtake the meaning. To understand a poem, you need to look deeply. But looking too deep can ruin the original intention.



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Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:44 pm
GeeLyria wrote a review...



Hi, Clarity!

I'm here to review as requested. I'll start off by saying that I like the wording of this poem. The imagery is really interesting and captivating and the poem flows decently. I love that the punctuation is well placed and that its appearance is attractive because it looks organized. I have nothing to say about the content, actually. I think you've done a good job. However, I'd suggest you to create stanzas. Why? Because a poem without stanzas is like a skycrapper without windows!~ with no light and no oxygen. Since your imagery is so vivid and the wording is not that simple (which is good), we need spaces to breathe and think about what it is we've written. It's more psychological than anything. xD But that's pretty much all I've got to say!

Keep writing! :)

~GeeLyria




Clarity says...


Thanks Gee, there are stanzas, but the format yws changes it to when I submitted it, made it look like there isn't any. :)



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Tue Mar 05, 2013 12:19 am
dogs wrote a review...



Hello there Clarity! Dogs here with your review today. Okey dokey, excellent piece here. You have some great writing and a good sense of rhythm in your writing. There are a few minor grammar errors that break up the rhythm and make the poem read a little choppily, but we'll get there. I think the strongest part of your writing, and you really exemplify it with this poem, is in your imagery. Great job of setting up the scene for the reader and immersing us in your writing.

"Soot stains the pure white outline,"

So here you have good imagery, with this line, but I think for the sake of rhythm and getting to the point you should cut out the "pure" bit. The fact that the house is white already makes the reader assume that it's pure. So say something more like: "Soot stains the white outline" Also, don't put a comma at the end of that line, if you read it fluently with the next line the comma doesn't make much sense there.

"gunshots ring out loud."

Firstly, this line should be "loudly" instead of loud. Also, I think that perhaps you should find a stronger word instead of "loud." Look it up in a thesaurus if you're having troubles with this, it'll help your writing greatly trust me.

"Childrens cries haunt,"

Two small issues here, firstly it should be: "Children's" because it's possessive. Secondly, there should be no comma after "haunt."

Basically for the rest of the poem on every single second to last line you have a comma at the end of it. That comma breaks up the rhythm and fluency of your writing, so just cut out the comma there and you'll be good. All and all a good piece, nice writing, I enjoyed reading your poems :). Let me know if you ever need a review. Keep up the good work!

TuckEr EllsworTh :smt032




Clarity says...


Thankyou, I'll work on what you mentioned.



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Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:02 pm
Jkwriting wrote a review...



Wow, I want to start by saying that I really like your style. Very unique.

The phrase that you repeat with a different subject each time is really powerful and paints a really interesting picture. However, I feel that unlike in the first paragraph, where the phrase 'that time made stand still' flows very well, the phrase sounds a little forced or out of the meter in some of the other verses, like the last one.

With some cleaning up here and there to give the poem more flow, I think it would be wonderful. I love the vivid image you are painting as well as the style with which this poem is written.

Just kind of curious on what inspired you to write this powerful piece :)

Keep writing!
Jk




Clarity says...


Thankyou, and the thing that inspired it was actually the clock in my bedroom. I was looking at it and it just stopped ticking. It made me think about how time is a very interesting concept, and how much it can influence our lives.



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Mon Mar 04, 2013 8:15 pm
WaitingForLife wrote a review...



Heya, just a quick flash of input from me.

First off, I really liked the idea of this poem and the imagery you drew together was much to my liking. My one point is this: I get where you're trying to go with the repetition of 'that time made still', but, in my opinion, I wouldn't stick with it. For me, that first stanza was hella powerful with the phrase. I got chills from how well it slipped into it and closed it with a spring in its step. Due to this, I felt that the next instances seemed slightly forced, as in the stanzas weren't tailored for this closure as closely as that strikingly good first one. This is just a suggestion based on my personal vibe on the matter, but I'd omit the repetition and scatter the phrase more sparsely. Play around with the notion, if you like, and if it isn't to your liking, it isn't; might just as well be better with the repetition. For me the first stanza just cast too large of a shadow. :P

As I said implied, good writing. ^^

Your's truly,
-life

EDIT: Lousy reading on my part, didn't notice that you tweaked the phrase every time with a different subject. *facepalms* Interesting idea that, but I still think that the first stanza had more spring to its step then the two after it. I'd suggest trying to get the rhythyms of the next one's on par with the first one; I think it's the longer third line in the first stanza that allows it to flow better than the other two. Again, just something to think about.

Sorry for misreading the first time around, don't know what got into me. xD




Clarity says...


Thankyou, the repetition was the part that made me wonder about what I thought of it myself, I think I'll get rid of it, and try to weave in something else. :)



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Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:52 pm
CaptainFinick wrote a review...



Tendrils of smoke billow out,
the window panes are smudged.
Soot stains the pure white outline,
of the house that time made still.
Walking down the borderline,
gunshots ring out loud.
Childrens cries haunt,
the town that time made still.
Clouds cover the sun,
but heat still fills the street.
Flames are lighting,
up the land that time made still.
Hills of green,
are turned to brass.
with all still staring out,
of the arch that time made still.
Pain and sorrow made this place,
what it is today.
A site filled with memories,
of the people that time made still.
Frozen on the edge of home,
no one left to love.
I walk away from my home,
that time made stand still.

This was a wonderful piece of work and I enjoyed reading it.
Read it once and liked it immediately!

This was wonderfully written and you used some wonderful phrases and vocabulary.
I'm thinking that this is a town or house that's been set alight and that a lot of people died possibly?

Nevertheless a wonderful piece of work and be sure to keep on writing like this.
You have a lot of potential.




Clarity says...


Thankyou :D



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33 Reviews


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Reviews: 33

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Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:52 pm
CaptainFinick says...



Tendrils of smoke billow out,
the window panes are smudged.
Soot stains the pure white outline,
of the house that time made still.
Walking down the borderline,
gunshots ring out loud.
Childrens cries haunt,
the town that time made still.
Clouds cover the sun,
but heat still fills the street.
Flames are lighting,
up the land that time made still.
Hills of green,
are turned to brass.
with all still staring out,
of the arch that time made still.
Pain and sorrow made this place,
what it is today.
A site filled with memories,
of the people that time made still.
Frozen on the edge of home,
no one left to love.
I walk away from my home,
that time made stand still.

This was a wonderful piece of work and I enjoyed reading it.
Read it once and liked it immediately!

This was wonderfully written and you used some wonderful phrases and vocabulary.
I'm thinking that this is a town or house that's been set alight and that a lot of people died possibly?

Nevertheless a wonderful piece of work and be sure to keep on writing like this.
You have a lot of potential.




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Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:49 pm
Jonathan says...



Very nice and good rime.




Clarity says...


Thankyou :)



jordin says...


You are very welcome.




Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.
— Louis L'Amour