I didn't even realise this was about Duolingo to start with XD
Seriously that owl scares me...
ok now to review!
I actually love this poem, it really gives the weird, creepy energy of Duo, the random nonsense sentences and the use of different languages is really clever. I've always thought Duolingo was kind of ominous but in a subtle, light hearted sort of way, and you captured that perfectly with the line "He keeps an eye on my family" (or the Spanish version) - seems comforting but is actually more sinister.
"I (no) rest, I watch (everything)"
This line was also really cool to me, how you used the verbs you would probably find when learning a language and then the more ominous ones of the owl's voice in brackets, to show how the narrator is being controlled, or their voice is being restricted by the owl. It's interesting to explore the irony of a language learning app restricting peoples voices.
For a poem about Duolingo you've managed to add quite a lot of depth and emotion. I can almost see it as a comment on how technology is taking over our lives - the subtly controlling tone of the owl. Maybe that's me overthinking a silly poem but either way being able to have that sort of depth is what makes poetry so fabulous (even if it is unintentional).
My only criticism is more a criticism of my own reading, I was kind of confused by the third stanza and the stuff about a doppelganger and matter itself? is it about loss of identity in some way? To me it just felt a bit unrelated to the rest of the poem but perhaps I'm just not understanding it correctly.
Overall this is a really cool poem on a very weird theme, and I really enjoyed reading it!
I'm fairly new to this community so i hope this review was ok, thanks for sharing your poem <3
Points: 41
Reviews: 8
Donate