Photograph.

by Collideascope

Published November 14, 2014

12+

In Poetry

Photograph.

Walking through this corridor  

These photographs on the wall,

make me feel watched.

Every step that I take 

reminds me of the ticking of a clock.

I know they've been around much longer then me,

but why does it feel like they are staring down their noses.

silently judging me?

The smiles in these pictures

chill me to the bone. 

Why have you hung them,

in the place I used to call home?

And why do you expect me to smile,

so you can add my face to this wall?

The smile I wear already is not a smile at all.

but rather a disguise, 

put up to keep away "caring" eyes.  

So no, 

I won't smile for your photograph.

In fact you cant take one at all.

It doesn't take a god to see,

soon nothing well be left to see,

except faded photographs and forgotten memories.

In the end,

I refuse to be just another picture on the wall.

Never will my phantom gaze follow someone 

walking down this long forgotten tomb.

Comments & reviews · 7
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crissymarx
Review
crissymarx wrote a review Review · Nov 16, 2014

I agree with comments below...this poem really makes a person think.

First off, let me start by saying great job. I really love the thought you put into this poem and love the concept of it as well. It's really simple to understand but a picture really is worth a thousand words (see what I did there?)

The only thing I would say to watch out for would be your grammar and spelling. Like "well" should be "will" in the 6th to last line. But I love the poem and the rhyming and everything else about it. Great job! Keep writing!

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lunae Review
lunae wrote a review Review · Nov 16, 2014

There is something about this poem that really makes me think. It reminds me of a certain hallway in my school where there is picture that i always look at.

One line especially really stood out to me "So no, I won't smile for your photograph." I like it because it is very rough and i can imagine someone saying this in a certain tone of voice that fits your poem perfectly.

I do have one criticism though; it seems to me that you are jumping around from saying that people are judging you, to just trying to rebel and i think that both topics work very well, but maybe you should focus more on one than the other.

Overall though, this is a very intriguing piece of writing.

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emmals16
Review
emmals16 wrote a review Review · Nov 16, 2014

Collideascope

I loved this. It successfully creeped me; enough so that I looked over at my wall full of photographs and though, "Well, I wish I could cover those up . . ."

Am I right to assume that she's in her ex's house and all the photographs are of them when they were together.

If thats what it's about I'm curious as to what inspired you to write this.

As for the writing itself I felt it was overall good. Even though it didn't rhym it sound really great and eerie.

Nice job :)

The insperation for this poem came from my hatred of pictures of me and the fact that my stepmom made me get perfessional pictures taken recently but that's one on the great things about poetry it's always open to inturpertaion.

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Vibe
Comment
Vibe commented Comment · Nov 15, 2014

It is awesomely eerie and sad. The feeling of pretense that you included is great. The words you used are also great, actually it is awesome. But, beyond the awesomeness that I feel from your poem, I feel the emotions that you placed in it. I feel your heart into it. Keep on writing!

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MathiMouse
Review
MathiMouse wrote a review Review · Nov 15, 2014

I really liked this poem, liked the almost creepy feel of it, of having all of these photographs staring down at you as you walk down the corridor.

You are really good at creating images with your words, and using those images to get the feeling across.

Where "lonelysayshi", says that you need to watch your punctuation and your capital letters, I strongly disagree. The difference between poems and prose, is that in poetry the poet have complete freedom to do as they like with their words and their punctuation. It might not always be correct, but that's all up to the writer. In older poems, all lines start with a capital letter, even though there was no full stop at the end of the line above.

In more contemporary poems, punctuation is often used as another way to strengthen the feeling of the poem, and can be very helpful in creating a chaotic feel. So if you feel that your punctuation helps the feeling of your poem, don't change it.

I also like that your rhyming is random, and that you don't use a specific rhyming-pattern, and that you don't have a specific form to the poem; it gives it a very contemporary feel.

There is one thing that I would like to point out, though, one thing that feels a bit awkward to me, and that is,

[It doesn't take a god to see,
soon nothing well be left to see,]

To me, it always seems forced when you end lines following each other with the same word, but I unfortunately have no suggestions to what you could do differently with it.

Lastly, I really like your ending, I really like the feel of the [faded photographs and forgotten memories], it flows really well, and the imagery is very beautiful.

All in all a very strong poem, with a really good rhythm and some really good imagery.

Thanks for sharing :D

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lovelysayshi
Review
lovelysayshi wrote a review Review · Nov 15, 2014

Hello there! I'm going to try to do a simple review here, I've read some of your work before and it is quite intriguing. I'm excited about your future works. Anyway, here goes the review...

The beginning is kind of awkward. The first line is wonderful, but what makes it awkward for me is the third line "make me feel watched" it just has an awkward vibe to it, maybe you could say something like "makes me feel as if I am being watched"?
Also that would add a little more flavor.

In line seven you have a period at the end, but the next letter is not capitalized. Make sure you watch out for stuff like that. :)

Why do these pictures chill you to the bone? Give your reader some kind of description. We are trying to figure this out, we need details!

I have also noticed that sometimes you have commas in places they shouldn't be. Just watch out for those too, I feel like that is a mistake you can fix yourself.

"In fact you can't take one at all"
It would sound more formal if you said can not rather than can't, also you forgot the apostrophe in the poem.

Over all, this poem had a very nice feel. I hope that you manage to keep this up because I assure you that at this rate, you will be blissful to read.

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gv7233
Review
gv7233 wrote a review Review · Nov 15, 2014

Lovin' the dramatic tone here.. Good use of the phrase "ticking of the clock." I used the same phrase too in one of my poems.. As I'm reading your poem, I can tell that you experienced something negative in your life that made you want to write this piece. The photographs on the wall are watching you as if those are the people that seems to judge you or have told you what to do or in other words have controlled you. Am I right? (Just analyzing this poem). I really love this. The ending of your poem fits the overall theme. Overall, this is fabulous. You did another fantastic job on this piece again.. Bravo!



Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
— Mark Twain