The Smile

by Izzy

Published October 22, 2010

I feel the fish hooks pulling at my cheeks
The line forcing my lips into an arc
Sometimes it barely takes a little tweak
A gentle tug when my mood is too dark
A pulsing starts to build up in my ears
The tips of all my fingers start to numb
Forgotten are the words that led to tears
My mouth left with no choice but to succumb
I feel the edges reaching for the sky
That rush of fiery feeling in my gut
It seems to light the sparkle in my eye
The door that holds the anger's firmly shut
You look at me and flash a warming grin
My lips betray me, I smile back, you win.

Comments & reviews · 4
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pazey13
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pazey13 commented Comment · Oct 25, 2010

Wow! That was REALLY good! The use of vocabulary was perfect and it flowed along so well. Keep up the good work!

redrudderhouse wrote a review Review · Oct 23, 2010

You followed the Shakesperean sonnet rhyme scheme, rhythm, and meter. There are times when the iambic pentameter is a bit off (lines 2 and 4, etc.) but I suppose that's okay since you followed it correctly in most parts.

Now, for the content:

I feel the fish hooks pulling at my cheeks - sides of mouth maybe? there's nothing in the cheeks for the hooks to hang on to, unless they pierce a hole through them
The line forcing my lips into an arc
Sometimes it barely takes a little tweak - sometimes it barely takes a little tweak to do what? and why do we have to know this?
A gentle tug when my mood is too dark - so this isn't the first time someone's put fish hooks on you?
The echo starts to build up in my ears - what echo?
The tips of all my fingers start to numb - why? I thought the only thing that happened was that there were fish hooks pulling at your cheeks?
Forgotten are the words that led to tears - pain makes you forgive?
My mouth left with no choice but to succumb - with all those hooks, the mouth hardly has a choice
I feel the edges reaching for the sky - what a hyperbole! I like it
That rush of fiery feeling in my gut
It seems to light the sparkle in my eye - the "it" is unnecessary
The door that holds the anger's firmly shut - have you locked the anger inside or have you left it behind?
You look at me and flash a warming grin - the "you" is introduced too late. we aren't prepared for it. who is this "you"? and why "warming"?
My lips betray me, I smile back, you win. - why betray? I thought the hooks forced you to smile?


The poem is very confusing. I don't know who (or what) the persona is. A girl? A fish? If she were a girl, then why the fish hooks? If it were a fish, why does it have fingers? Who is the "you" and what is his/her relationship with the persona?

Because I get a funny image from all this. I see a girl with fish hooks forcing her mouth into a smile (as for who or what put the fish hooks there, I have no idea. the fishing lines are tied to clouds or something) with another person (boy or girl, I don't know) smiling at her.

Maybe next time you could use free verse instead. Sonnets are difficult to write well. The rhyme scheme and metrical constraints can hinder you. And keep the language simple.

The grammar is sound, but maybe you could have used punctuation marks?

Sorry if that was harsh. I was just trying to give constructive criticism. That's what workshops are for, no? xD

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ballerina13
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ballerina13 commented Comment · Oct 23, 2010

Hello! This was so cute and happy. I loved it. The metaphors and personification are wonderful. The word choice and rhythm are nice. The flow was nicely done. Great job!
~Ballerina



"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
— Dr. Seuss