z

Young Writers Society


E - Everyone

moth thoughts

by alliyah


after Don Marquis "The Lesson of the Moth"

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8 Reviews

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Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:46 pm
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enidskittyteef wrote a review...



I was scrolling through the greenroom and woah this title hooked me! Extra point for that!!! I really like how the poem is on the moth picture! I like the creativity of how it can be read in any direction a lot! The poem itself is beautiful and has been added to the collection of poems on my wall that I hold close to my heart. This is genuinely so good, I seriously think this is one of the best poems I have read in a long time. I love the line "we're all chasing or being chased," because I find that to be a very true thing, life is just one big game of tag, chasing after dreams and a future, or running away from your past and leaving behind former hopes and dreams. I give it a 10/10. This was so amazing!!!! Also, I love "The Lesson of the Moth."




alliyah says...


Thank you very much RiddleRats! I appreciate your comments and feedback. :) And glad that you liked "Lesson of the Moth" too - that's my all time favorite poem, Don Marquis is a really interesting poet.



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Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:00 pm
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vampricone6783 wrote a review...



I read the poem from the middle, then to the left, then to the right. I like how you can read this poem in different ways and that everyone can come up with their own different interpretations. I interpreted this as someone who used to go after their dreams (a butterfly) but they gave up to survive (a moth). One day the moth might learn to be a butterfly again.

I wish you a lovely day/night.




alliyah says...


This was helpful, thank you for the feedback and interpretation you are right it can be read many directions! :)



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Wed Nov 02, 2022 3:43 am
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starlitmind says...



"once for three days i was caught in a lamp-post" -> relatable.

i am in love with this




alliyah says...


Well thank u friend!

((That line may be a sneaky religious allusion ~ but also yes, high key relatable!!))



starlitmind says...


OH WAIT ACTUALLY i didn't know! what's the allusion? :)



alliyah says...


Spoiler! :

Thanks for asking! So the poem is primarily a very silly POV of a moth, but can also be taken as semi-serious meditation on death/heaven/resurrection - as a pairing with one of my chicken shape poems about "crossing the road".

Both "going toward the light" & "crossing the road" are popular euphemisms for death/dying.

Any who - with the 3 days thing; in Christian scripture the culmination of a 3 days wilderness / death / darkness often ends with a revelation / redemption / resurrection.

ie.
> On the first "3rd day" of creation God created life (plants first!) from the depths of the ground, then on the second "3rd day" (so the 6th day) of creation God created human life again from the depths of the ground.
> Abraham, the patriarch's, journey to sacrifice his son (who was ultimately saved) was 3 days.
> There were 3 days of darkness before the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.
> Jonah, the prophet, (who I think makes an appearance in the Quran too if I'm not mistaken) spent 3 days stuck in the belly of a whale before being rescued by God.
> Saul was blinded for 3 days, before God gave him back sight.
> There were 3 hours of darkness after the crucifixion.
> And most significantly after Jesus was crucified, we believe he was dead for three days before his resurrection. <- modern Christians sometimes observe a "3 days of mourning / fasting period" in the 3 days leading up to Easter in remembrance of this.

So sometimes Christians use "on the third day" as a symbolic phrase to reference to death resurrection - believing in this life we are still (trapped) in our waiting period (our tomb / darkness) but "on the third day" (also called "the last day") we too will rise again.

In terms of the poem -> I really didn't develop this all very much - but I think I'm trying to say we (like the moth) can chase artificial "light" while we await the true light to come (the sun / heaven) but it's going to leave us trapped & waiting like the moth in the lamp post. Hopefully though we will emerge and be able to chase again after the true light while we await for the last day.

Maybe I'll try to develop the poem more later on these themes!




starlitmind says...


gosh i'm so glad you told me that bc that is actually super interesting -> i never realized how important the number 3 is in Christianity ^_^ thank you for taking so much of your time to write all of that! gah religion is so cool :)

but anyways i love how that adds another layer to your poem - it's still accessible to those who don't catch the allusion but becomes even more special to those who do

THANKS FOR SHARING! always love reading your poems thoughts behind them



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Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:40 am
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alliyah says...



author's note: this is not meant to be read left to right but any-which-way you feel like. the poem is inspired by my favorite poem "The Lesson of the Moth" by Don Marquis.





“Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all -
— Emily Dickinson