I am here! Finally!
So enough chatter, on to the review.
Some Wording Thoughts
Just going to go stanza by stanza and sort of point out what I see - sorry that this is quite nit-picky.
For some reason in those first two lines I get really tripped up on the word "supermassive" - it takes almost too many brain steps to figure out what that line is saying. First okay "super massive", then oh, it's contradictory with the preceding word "condense", then oh, actually the memories are condensed in a way that's packed in or thick so it's not a contradiction. I'd take out the "super" and just let the alliteration and the single adjective do its work. Rather than get quirky points for pushing two words together.
The following line I love though - which footsteps brought us here/ which were just pretending. The flow of logic there, how it says something, then almost contradicts itself and takes a turn is really elegant and keeps the reader on their toes. It's clever without being so convoluted that it can't be understood.
This is super minor - but I noticed you use a single dash/hyphen in first stanza, then a double dash later on and am not sure if this is intentional or not, but I think I'd keep it consistent unless there's a reason it's a single dash.
In the second stanza, I love where this poem is going with the imagery being a metaphor for the relationship. Where they've found gold but aren't quite sure if it's real or not yet.
I would maybe take out the repetition of the word "gold" for something different and I think the line "with value and symbolism" is a bit too redundant since before it's already stated that it's gold and is precious - let the reader make the necessary inferences rather than saying it again I think.
In stanza three, again I would watch the repetition of the words unless there's a specific reason; maybe "precious" could be replaced with a synonym. I love the line about a childhood chiding us -- great alliteration there and it's funny and relateable. However the language used to discuss superman as fat and short seems a bit too informal/casual for the poem. Also the rest of the piece is timeless - but the superman reference puts it in a particular time setting and place.
In your fourth stanza that's off to the side I like the image of the ukulele and swimming through songs - which brings in the stream example again, but the opening phrase could be stronger. I also can't imagine someone ever saying "that would be so nice and humbling" -- "nice" is a sort of plain conversational adjective, while "humbling" is more academic and a totally different tone. I'm also not getting the "humbling" emotion coming through the rest of the poem so it feels tossed in there, adding too many accessories rather than additional emotional layers.
The last stanza is pretty much magical. Gosh, those first four lines are beautiful. Love the repetition of turning in "the leaves turning over leaves turning over new trees. we". And the way you chopped the line so that "we" is on one line and then it moves to "were" is so perfect -- it's dramatic because suddenly as the reader gets to the height of this romantic image and the emphasis of "we" - boom. the reader notices it's in past-tense. Then you bring back that thread of continuity with the gold and the stream and the memories/stories parallel. Very nice. I think if I'd change anything here, it'd be to maybe use a little more "sound" descriptions or voice descriptions at the beginning so that the line "hear your voice in my chest" feels more connected, or so that the reader can guess how the person sounds, or what they might say.
I think the formatting in the last 2 italics lines isn't really necessary, and the double spacing between "stay, love, please." is a bit overly dramatic I think - it's almost like using all caps and bold and italics. You've already got the double punctuation emphasis with the commas, line breaks, and brackets (as well as the italics) so putting in the spaces ends up looking a bit odd on the page for me. But on the other-hand it is a dramatic line, so it just depends on how dramatic you want to push it.
Overall Message
The overall message of the poem seemed to be about a person reflecting on the good times they had with someone that they loved. And hoping that the memories they have of the good times, still linger on for that other person. They reflect on the warnings of the "gold" that could have been false, and how the streams of memories and stories and love run through their relationship narrative. At the end we learn that the speaker does think their love was genuine, and they still hold on to their lover, and beg (at least in their heart) for the lover to stay.
For me the main message doesn't really require the stanza with the superman and picture -- that stanza seemed the most disconnected because the imagery didn't quite connect into the other stanzas. I would try to make that one a bit more interlinked into the other ones or maybe mention the stream or water somehow in it.
Overall Thoughts
I enjoyed reading this poem quite a bit! It was a nice little journey through this person's mind reflecting on their relationship. You used creative little lines to generate really emotionally heavy images and phrases and the twists and turns in the phrasing kind of kept me guessing on whether the relationship would work out in the end of the poem or not, which kept the story interesting for me. I think the poem gives the right amount of detail about both characters too to make their relationship seem real, but it mostly focuses on the emotional impact of the whole thing and the questions that sort of linger through a relationship.
I noted a few places where I thought there was a bit too much repetition or an inconsistency in word choice - but overall the tone was wonderfully nostalgic and thoughtful. Your formatting sort of wove like a stream, but I think the poem would have been just as strong aligned left.
A lot of great lines in here Lumi! And not a whole lot to criticize! I like how throughout the poem you took sort of familiar images and gave them a slight twist to heighten them or add a mixed up flavor. Like in the last stanza sitting at a stream - okay, pretty normal. And then "e sang to one another for centuries" -- woah, not normal - puts a twist on our understanding of the depth of the relationship and events.
Lovely piece Lumi!
Let me know if you have any questions about my review, I'm hoping it wasn't too scattered.
~alliyah
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