About something

by Demeter

Published May 7, 2008

In Poetry

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If you want to tell me
about something beautiful,
tell me about a rose ribbon
in the morning sky,
tell me about a snowy forest
beneath the stars:
tell me about silence.

If you want to tell me
about something pleasant,
tell me about woollen socks
with colourful stripes,
tell me about hot chocolate
with whipped cream –
tell me about yourself.

If you want to tell me
about something secret,
tell me about the relaxing song
of April raindrops,
or about the running thought
of an animator.
Tell me about prejudice.

And when you finally give me
the chance to talk,
I'll tell you how
I already know such things.
I'll tell you about
you being unable to awe me –
I listened without learning anything new.

Comments & reviews · 22
This work has been locked
TakeThatYouFiend wrote a review Review · Feb 23, 2014

So, your first poem? Wow.
This was brilliant.
If there was any deep meaning other than the face value story, I am afraid I missed it, but it was great all the same.
I think the way you have written such a good poem is by making all the points you write about be not only widely relatable to, but something that everyone feels is there own, and not a mass opinion.
Yet another brilliant thing you have done is the way in which you have established the constant rhythm by placing a punctuation break at the end of every penultimate line. This works extremely well.
Very well done,
Take That You Fiend!

Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it a lot! However, this poem is from 2008 so I'm hardly working on it anymore. ;) Thank you though!

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Kamas
Comment
Kamas commented Comment · Apr 11, 2010

This is from 2008, I'm sure the writer appreciates it. But please don't bump old topics.

*locked*

(Demizzle, if you want it unlocked you can do it :P)

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sealegs
Review
sealegs wrote a review Review · Apr 11, 2010

I love the idea of this poem. I appreciate the repetition - it doesn't get old, I can track with it throughout the whole poem. However, the things that you're telling ME about can be better. "Tell me about a rose ribbon in the morning sky" is too easy. "Tell me about a snowy forest beneath the stars" is too easy! But when you suddenly break out with the "Tell me about prejudice" I was relieved. You have the perfect chance to put some great description into this poem. But you NEED to find something to describe that hasn't been thought of by anyone else - or you must, as least, do it the best. Try to one up yourself with your descriptions.

The last stanza is the weakest. Cut at "I already know such things" and see how it sounds. The last three lines just aren't working.

Happy trails and writing spells!

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Lil_Pau
Review
Lil_Pau wrote a review Review · Jul 22, 2009

O.o

Wow. Great job. I really love the imagery, the tone and the message of this poem. I was simply blown away after finishing it, and I read it at least 2-3 times all over again. Really...it was a great read.

However, there is one thing (in the first stanza):


tell me about a snowy forest

beneath the stars:

tell me about silence.


I think it should be a semicolon at the end of 'stars,' instead of a colon.

Overall, amazing job. I hope to see more from you soon!
Keep writing, and keep up the good work! :D

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Black Rabbit
Review
Black Rabbit wrote a review Review · Jul 22, 2009

Image AKL Super-Ultra-Mega-Giga Awesome Messaging Presents...




"KL's REVIEW"



~~~



Hi, Demi! KL here! I'll be your critic for today! :D






First off...


If you want to tell me
about something beautiful,
tell me about a rose ribbon
in the morning sky,
tell me about a snowy forest
beneath the stars:
tell me about silence.




A beautifully intriguing start of a poem. :D The title is as intriguing, too, and I wasn't disappointed when I started to read this. It immediately latched me on, so kudos to you for that. :)

The imagery is warm, subtle and sweet. Rhythm is consistent and each line flows nicely to the next. Just one teeny nitpick, though... the colon should be removed. A colon isn't really suited to be placed there. Overall, a good opening stanza.


If you want to tell me
about something pleasant,
tell me about woollen socks
with colourful stripes,
tell me about hot chocolate
with whipped cream –
tell me about yourself.




Hot chocolate? Yummm~ :P This is still exceptional, though; 'woollen' is misspelled. Don't worry, that will be an easy fix. ;) Noticing the hyphen over there, I say you should've done the same with the first stanza; a hyphen should replace the colon.


If you want to tell me
about something secret,
tell me about the relaxing song
of April raindrops,
or about the running thought
of an animator.
Tell me about prejudice.



Image Hmmm... this stanza is a bit lanky - not technically, I mean, but the imagery has lost its warmth. :( I think you should replace the word secret with 'undisclosed'. It gives the readers the same meaning, yet it gives the effect of something more thoughtful. Also, this line -

or about the running thought
of an animator.


- this line I couldn't quite grasp. This is something that destroys the bubbly atmosphere that began to build up as I went through the first and second stanzas; this line, to me, seems dry and tasteless. I went, 'Awwww... KL out of happy!'. Now you used a period to separate the last and the second to the last lines (err)... I think it's better to be consistent. :P Also, prejudice doesn't quite add up to the rest of the previous lines... Somehow, something is quite lacking in this stanza... the warmth, perhaps? Hmm...

Well, let's move on. ^^; I'll think of that later. I'm sorry if I'm being idiotic...



And when you finally give me
the chance to talk,
I'll tell you how
I already know such things.
I'll tell you about
you being unable to awe me –
I listened without learning anything new.



Nice end! I'd say the message is good, but that's an understatement. Also, the title seemed really casual and blithe at first, but as you go through the piece, the real significance of it slowly - and plainly, if we overlook the more complex images - unfolds. Kudos to you for that. :D All in all, I really liked this poem, and there's nothing much I have left to say besides all this.

Thanks for the good read, Demi! ;)



Lotta loves,



KL



Image

User avatar
Blink
Review
Blink wrote a review Review · Jan 4, 2009

I've returned =) .

Right, I find that although the flow is lovely, I'm going to contradict myself. We read "about something" over and over again, right through until the end of the poem until which time it has lost it's meaning, and instead of simply reading the poem and absorbing it, we begin to wonder why you want to hear about something beautiful, or silent or whatever. A line could sort that out, but I don't know what line. You decide :wink: .

From then on, I'm yet again in awe at your work. And that last stanza seems have been listening to my advice, because it's great. However, I did have an issue with a few other things there--the flow, and the rhythm, seem to just collapse. Perhaps you could compare it to the rest of the poem through a simple act of punctuation. Yes, I think so.

Imagery: Beautiful. The song of raindrops, and the rose ribbon in the sky, made me smile. Lovely. And in fact I suppose you're wondering I'm bothering to create a subsection just to say that. I just think it's not matched up enough. Some lines have great imagery, whereas others are just plain, if you see what I mean.

I'll tell you about
me knowing that already
I'll tell you about
your being not able to awe me
I listened without learning anything new.

Lines 2 & 3 threw me at first, and it detracts from the great flow that the rest of the poem has. When I went back to read it, I understood what you meant, but felt it wasn't there. Try tuning it up a bit.

Again, send it in! Great poem as always, Demeter. =P

Best,
Mark

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scribblingquill
Comment
scribblingquill commented Comment · Jan 4, 2009

This is a really lovely poem



Imagery is great, and the theme is very interesting


this is the kind you can curl up in

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StellaThomas
Review
StellaThomas wrote a review Review · Jan 4, 2009

Demmie dearest! Stelz here!

I love your imagery in this poem, it's fantastic.

Tell me about a rose ribbon
in the morning sky


that's my favourite.

Tell me about hot chocolate
with whipped cream


Yum.

Tell me about the running thought
of an animator


I didn't get this one. An animator? Like, somebody who draws cartoons? Am I missing something here?

Tell me about prejudice.


And I didn't get why this was secret...

Overall, I adore your imagery, and though I like your sort of breaking it to them at the end, you do sound a bit presumtuous :D. Maybe I'm seeing this in the wrong light, but I'm seeing it like this: you're talking to someone who keeps trying to show you these things that they think only they can see, that only they know, but really, you notice them by yourself, you never get the chance to say so though, and it gives them so much joy that you just let them. You listen to them tell you all of this with wide eyes, but inside you're not amazed. That's what I'm getting, and if so, I totally relate.

The last stanza, although lovely in essence, could just use some work on the rhythm of it:

And when you finally give me
the chance to talk,
I'll tell you about
me knowing that already
I'll tell you about
you being not able to awe me
I listened without learning anything new.


Perhaps "me knowing that already" could switch to something less roundabout... "I'll tell you how,
I knew all that already."

or something. I'm not a poet, so go your own way. It's just a little awkward as it is.

Overall I loved it. You have some beautiful images in your mind. *gold starred*

Hope I helped, and PM me if you have any questions,

-Stella.

User avatar
Adnamarine
Review
Adnamarine wrote a review Review · Jan 4, 2009

Hi Demi :)

First, punctuation. Right now you’re somewhere in-between using all the correct punctuation, and not using any. You have the periods at the end of the stanzas, and you have one comma in the last stanza. You either need to get rid of those, or fill in the many places where you would ordinarily put your commas, your periods, your ordinary punctuation.

I also noticed that you always capitalized the word ‘Tell’ when it is the first word in a line, and it was always on every other line. I’m not really sure why you did that, whether it was to indicate that it was a new sentence despite the lack of periods, or what it was. But it seemed a little strange.

In general it kind of had that list feeling. If you know what I mean. Not too badly, but it was there. At least for me. I’m not sure exactly what would be the best remedy for that, because that was the only thing that really felt wrong about this.


you being not able to awe me
One last picky thing. It should be “you being unable to awe me”

Good job. :)

In_the_Moonlight wrote a review Review · Aug 15, 2008

Bravo! Im speechless. I loved your poem from the very beginning to the very end. I thought it was witty and creative. The third verse was my favorite. Way to start it off slow then end with a bang.
A list of the good things about this poem:
*funny
*length was perfect
*entertaining
*unique
*GREAT!

Ringo_rules987 wrote a review Review · Jun 10, 2008

*sighs*, I envy your skill and ability. The diversity was great without being a jumbled mess, which is a very difficult thing to accomplish. It's a very contemplative poem, and it was quite consistent the whole way through.

There were some lines I loved more than others:

Tell me about a rose ribbon
in the morning sky


This is very descriptive and is full of imagination.

Tell me about the relaxing song
of April raindrops


Referring to April raindrops as a song is pure genius.

It's very good, and I can't find a negative thing to say about it.

User avatar
laughingfreakx3
Comment
laughingfreakx3 commented Comment · Jun 10, 2008

I was great!
I didn't blow me away but I went up just a bit
Keep doing what your doing

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Monki
Review
Monki wrote a review Review · Jun 10, 2008

All I can say is that I found nothing to critique. Really, I didn't. This was beautiful. I couldn't have done it better (or even this good) myself.

Tell me, what inspired you to write this. This was so inspiring itself.

Now, I feel like writing a story about woolen socks. Ha ha!

Anyways, I can't believe that something as simple as this could strike me as so... artistic and awesome. I've always liked longer pieces, but this one struck me as something really clever and from the heart. Great job.

That's all I can say. Great job.

If you ever need a critique or something, feel free to PM me.

<3,
Monki

lit-chick-4evva wrote a review Review · Jun 10, 2008

Whoa. That's like all I can say. This is remarkable!

Your imagery is unusual, but you write it in such a way that most authors can't get away with. "Tell me about silence" is amazing!!!

You are a really, really, really, REALLY, gifted writer. Never give up on writing! In fact, I'd consider getting some of your work published. The publisher would be like, "Wow. This is SO great; we have to publish it!" Guarantee it.


Once more, it is an amazing work, and I'm sure that everyone who's read it agrees. :)

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Love2act4ever
Review
Love2act4ever wrote a review Review · Jun 5, 2008

Wow. This was really good. I loved the imagery and descriptive words. I loved the twist at the end, and how the whole piece flowed. It was very well written. My favorite line was,

If you want to tell me

about something secret

Tell me about the relaxing song

of April raindrops

Tell me about the running thought

of an animator

Tell me about prejudice.

I just love all the emotion in this stanza. It was very well done. Good Job!

Josh

Random avatar
sday1607
Review
sday1607 wrote a review Review · Jun 5, 2008

Alright Demeter,
Loved it, its flow and rhythm is perfectly layered, and it reveals enough without being patronising to the reader.
My favourite part was :
'Tell me about the relaxing song

of April raindrops

Tell me about the running thought

of an animator

Tell me about prejudice.'

I love the personification of the April raindrops, although I'm not entirely sure of the ending and how it fits in wih the rest of the poem, but in a strange way, it fits as well that I can't describe :P
It's a great piece of work,
See you around
Sday

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Sapphire
Review
Sapphire wrote a review Review · May 23, 2008

I really liked this poem. The title made me, personally, want to read it so nice choice!

I'm not going to pick out images because they were all beautiful but a line I liked was 'Tell me about yourself'. In fact, that whole stanza was lovely!

I kind of agree with Leahweird about the 'Tell me about prejudice' line, but then you might specifically want it there.

It was quite relaxing to read then it changes at the end. I think the break in the rhythm you had been using was actually quite effective. It did disturb the flow that the poem had going but in doing so illustrates the change in the persona's feelings. Well, that's what I felt anyway! :) I also liked the change at the end from 'you tell me' to 'I tell you'.

Congratulations on a great poem! :)

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mizz-iceberg
Review
mizz-iceberg wrote a review Review · May 9, 2008

Hey D! Here by request :wink:.

I actually really enjoyed this poem. The words were simple and the imagery was simple as well yet quite vivid and descriptive. I have to say there was a lot of talent in this poem.

I would say it was creative as well. I loved how you had two random objects moving in parallel.


Like people above, I had a problem with the last stanza. It seemed rather abrupt and didn't go with the flow of the rest of the poem. :S. It was was as if through out the poem I listening to some soothing beautiful music and as I got near the end, suddenly my baby brother comes in banging pots and pans together. It was very disturbing. Not really a good way to end a poem. So I would say make the that stanza run smoother. And perhaps reword it to go along with the rhythm of the rest of the poem.

OVERALL:

Wonderful poem really. I still read it again and again and the imagery makes me feel all warm inside.

-Hope this helped!

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Knurla
Review
Knurla wrote a review Review · May 8, 2008

I agree with everyone else that this is a very beautiful poem, and that you have done a wonderful job with the imagery! Although, I noticed that the last stanza did not match the flow of the rest of the poem.

"And when you finally give me
the chance to talk
I tell you about
me knowing all that already
I tell you about
you being not able to surprise me
I listened to you without learning anything."

This stanza was, as someone else above stated, too long in the sense that it made itself sound bad."I tell you about me knowing all that already " sounds like one big jumble of words. Try changing it to "I'll tell you I already know such things," or whatever you feel comfortable with. Good luck and good job!

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Kalliope
Review
Kalliope wrote a review Review · May 8, 2008

Hey Demeter,

I thought this was cute although it didn't blow me off my feet admittedly I enjoyed the read.

The last stanza was very unexpected which was good after all the repetition in the first ones. The only thing that slightly bohered me was the last line:

I tell you about
you being not able to surprise me
I listened to you without learning anything.


Somehow you wanting to learn something is a brand new aspect. Before you talk about visual things and things that make you feel a certain way and then you want to learn something? I don't know about that. Plus this line seems somewhat longer than the others.

Other than that: Cute!

~Kalliope

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Eimear
Review
Eimear wrote a review Review · May 7, 2008

Um...wow D. This was subtely amazing, to be honest.

The first line really did it for me. Your techniques are great, and the whole poem just seems- neat. Not too neat that it's rigid, but enough to show us you're boss.

The Imagery is breathtaking, not only in itself but the way you compare one with another:


Tell me about a rose ribbon
in the morning sky
Tell me about a snowy forest
beneath the stars
Tell me about silence.


Nice. Even the sudden full stop at the end of the stansa shows us the true beauty of silence. That's a trick I haven't used before, so thanks for showing us that.

Showing, there's another thing. Even though the narrator is very much 'telling' us this, I still think you show each- beauty, pleasant, secret ect v.well.

Fav line:

Tell me about the running thought
of an animator


I loved the end. Great way to round it off, and you've brought the whole poem to a conclusion, something many people forget the importance of.

Great job!

Eimear

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Leahweird
Review
Leahweird wrote a review Review · May 7, 2008

*bursts into wild applause*

Beautiful, simply beautiful. I love the juxtaposition between traditional beautiful things like sunsets and hot choclate with the fresh. "Tell me about silence" gives me shivers.

I like the third verse, it's important, but bringing up something as controversial as prejudice in the midst of the poem throwsa me off. If you talked for about it the other stanzas maybe, but it leaps out a litte.

The whole thing was lovely, but the last verse was spectacular. I've read it three times and it still awes me.



I'm a fledgling potato bird that lives in a nest in the rp forums
— Ley