the ripples in the water are not gentle anymore

by Writersdomain

Published June 9, 2005

In Poetry

The ripples in the water are not gentle anymore

I watch heavy glass fall into
Shades of translucent blue
The water waving to the departing hills
Which glide over its surface
The glistening, beautiful face
Of this drenching blue smokescreen
Laughing in my face, mocking my tears

Every glassy tear which falls
Into the scornful innocence
Of the once gentle circles
Latches onto my neck and pulls me closer to itself
Until I cannot leave this sight of hopelessness
Until I fall in

the ripples in the water are not gentle anymore


(crit please. also, the first line is not the title. It is the first line of the poem :wink: )

Comments & reviews · 18
User avatar
Writersdomain
Comment
Writersdomain commented Comment · Feb 3, 2010

Thanks for your comment, inkwell! But this is a very old poem--about 4 or 5 years old, really, so I'm going to lock it. Have a great day!

User avatar
inkwell
Review
inkwell wrote a review Review · Feb 3, 2010

The repetition is perfect.

I love the way you don't just paint an image. Instead it felt like you were pouring the image out so gracefully but at the same time made a "ripple" when it hit the surface. Very pretty in an emotional way.

I watch heavy glass fall into

Shades of translucent blue


:)

User avatar
RowanHowler
Review
RowanHowler wrote a review Review · Aug 27, 2008

Hello,


This had a very depressed and frightening feel to it, which I happen to love :-). Your descriptions are very vivid, every line simply adding onto the luscious imagery of the water. The entire poem seems to have hidden depth and is an extended metaphor for water/life. I like that you kept it simple, using only one element, but it still made me think about each line. It has its surreal aspects and then more natural concrete ones, like the hills. I can't really think of much for you to work on except for repetition. In a piece this small repeated words stand out. one place is "Of the once gentle circles" because gentle is such a strong word at the beginning and end, I'd replace this random use of it with languid or some other such word. The second word is "until" which is used twice in a row. It only sticks out because it is not seen as a pattern elsewhere. Its up to you if you want to change it but I think it might be smoother if you took one out.

User avatar
Lollipop
Comment
Lollipop commented Comment · Jul 9, 2005

Wow! Truly amazing! I agree, it's beautiful! :D

User avatar
Chevy
Comment
Chevy commented Comment · Jun 23, 2005

Latches onto my neck and pulls me closer to itself
Until I cannot leave this sight of hopelessness


This would probably look and sound better being 3 or 4 lines.

User avatar
hekategirl
Comment
hekategirl commented Comment · Jun 22, 2005

This is a beutiful poem, the idea of the ripples in the water is very beutiful. Thats how I would descrive this poem: beutiful.

Random avatar
Kilty
Comment
Kilty commented Comment · Jun 22, 2005

I love this peice--it has a certain haunting beauty. Haunting because of the melancholy tone, but it creates such a lovely picture in my mind.

User avatar
Chevy
Comment
Chevy commented Comment · Jun 18, 2005

I liked the concept but it seemed a little wordy in some places.

User avatar
xMyxFinalxAriax
Comment
xMyxFinalxAriax commented Comment · Jun 16, 2005

It's really pretty. I can't stop reading it, lol.

User avatar
Crysi
Comment
Crysi commented Comment · Jun 13, 2005

This is 100% amazing. I loved it all the way through. You truly have great talent.

Random avatar
Fireweed
Comment
Fireweed commented Comment · Jun 13, 2005

WOW this is really beautiful... I love the first line and I like how you repeated it at the end.

User avatar
nickelpickle
Review
nickelpickle wrote a review Review · Jun 13, 2005

The ripples in the water are not gentle anymore


Amazing beginning. Powerful, meaningful...

I watch heavy glass fall into
Shades of translucent blue
The water waving to the departing hills
Which glide over its surface
The glistening, beautiful face
Of this drenching blue smokescreen
Laughing in my face, mocking my tears


I loved how this almost rhymed without meaning to. I dont know if you planned that, but it was gorgeous. into, blue; surface, face

Anyway, I loved these two lines especially

The water waving to the departing hills
Which glide over its surface


Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. One little thing. I don't know if anyone else agrees, but in the first line here, I watch heavy glass fall into, I think that into would work better on the second line there.

Every glassy tear which falls
Into the scornful innocence
Of the once gentle circles
Latches onto my neck and pulls me closer to itself
Until I cannot leave this sight of hopelessness
Until I fall in


Absolutely amazing, especially the second and fourth line. You paint pictures and it is absolutely incredible.

I tell you, the ripples in the water are not gentle anymore


This was the only thing I really didn't like. End like you start and get rid of the "I tell you,"

You truly are an amazing writer. This was absolutely gorgeous, I can't wait to read more of your work.

User avatar
Misty
Comment
Misty commented Comment · Jun 10, 2005

First thing- I'm a coastal native american, Shoalwater Bay. Our reservation is on the coast of Washington State. So you know I was totally feeling this poem from the first line. Here's my crit (or really, comments, because I like all of this too much to give any real, harsh crit)


The ripples in the water are not gentle anymore
I think everyone relates to this. I love to swim in the ocean, and I know sometimes the waves are gentle and calming, but in a storm they get wild and dangerous. I love this imagery

I watch heavy glass fall into
Shades of translucent blue
The water waving to the departing hills
Which glide over its surface
The glistening, beautiful face
Of this drenching blue smokescreen
Laughing in my face, mocking my tears


The part about heavy glass is beautiful, as is the line after it. The imagery is lovely, almost perfect

Every glassy tear which falls
Into the scornful innocence
Of the once gentle circles
Latches onto my neck and pulls me closer to itself
Until I cannot leave this sight of hopelessness
Until I fall in


Oohh...so perfect. I love this. Especially the "glass tear" part, like I said. ... you're putting me into a trance with your poetry, sucking me in..that's part of why I love writing, temporary mind control...

Not sure if I like the "I tell you," in the last line. Other than that...PERFECT[/quote]

User avatar
Misty
Review
Misty wrote a review Review · Jun 10, 2005

I like this. It's really interesting and it gives you a strong picture...I like the metaphor of glassy tears. the bell just rang I'll crit this as soon as I get home :D it's beautiful

User avatar
Liz
Review
Liz wrote a review Review · Jun 10, 2005

I like it. Only problem for me was the "I tell you" in the last line. Either take it out or change it to something else. It just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the poem. Apart from that, it was good. I especially loved "drenching blue smokescreen".
Good stuff.

User avatar
Writersdomain
Comment
Writersdomain commented Comment · Jun 10, 2005

Thank you soo much for the suggestion Reichieru. I'll break them up right now

User avatar
Rei
Review
Rei wrote a review Review · Jun 9, 2005

This is really very beautiful. The metephore of ripples on water is very powerful and easy to understand.

One thing you could do to improve it is to break most of the lines into two lines. I think if you were to do that, it would flow much more smoothly, and possibly have a very subtle meter.

The last line I wasn't too fond of. The ending might be more powerful if you ended it the way you began.



In the winter months, snowstorms and rainfall in the Patagonian Ice Fields can drastically affect the landscape. Worsened by heavy winds, such storms can reduce visibility and lead to glacial calving, ice collapses, and avalanches. During these conditions, travel is not advised.
— The Documentarian