Young Writers Society

This is meant to be a companion poem to I guess I'm only wondering how you crossed that road written as part of my NaPo 2022 collection. It is a shape poem that can be read any which way - formatted in PowerPoint.

Questions you could consider for reviewing:

1) What did you take the "meaning" and / or "feeling" of the poem to be?

2) How did the shape and format of the poem impact your reading?

3) Any lines or images stand out?

4) Any points of confusion or critique?

5) Any other thoughts?

Thanks for reading!

i am a simple ywser, i see goos and i like

you're doing gods work

mad respect

i am inspired

Wow, what a unique way to present a poem! It did prove a little tricky to try and read all the phrases and lines but since it can be read in any order, it made for a really interesting experience. It must have taken a while to format the poem into the shape of a goose so well!. Overall, the creative approach to this poem has added an extra layer of depth and meaning to an otherwise quite sweet and funny poem. The use of shape and form to convey the message is truly innovative. It's a fresh take on the traditional format of poetry!
Like other reviewers have said, the poem seems philosophical in nature, a goose questioning it's own nature and asserting that it's not a chicken. Maybe it's up to us to decide whether we are chickens or geese.

Hello alliyah! Here to review this lovely chicken poem to celebrate the preservation of our newest (and perhaps our finest) YWS work genre :]

The poem creates the shape of one of the most iconic fowl, the goose (alternatively known in the YWS region as a goos), but it would seem there is more to this bird than its appearances. The very identity of the bird is called into question, with it being theorized as "not a chicken, surely not a duck", and scattered doubt throughout the poem regarding whether the subject is in fact a goose or not. Perhaps the observer is uncertainly examining the goose, searching for the answer of who it is, or maybe the goose is in disguise, trying to hide its webbed feet and white plumage to parade as another fine bird. Whatever the scenario, the mystery of the character is very well developed-- and in such few words!

The poem also has a certain musicality to it. The many honks make it seem like the poem can also be heard while reading, despite it being a visual art, and creates a steady rhythm for the piece. This imagery of sound allows the readers to more clearly imagine the goose, and how it would be to get honked at by it. Wonderful use of several senses in your description!

There is also some very deep rhetoric and poeticism at work. Perhaps the deepest line of all is the line "this is not a chicken poem, but some people could be convinced", because it begs the question-- what is a chicken poem? Can everything be a chicken poem, even a poem about a goose, if it has a minimum required amount of chickens in it? How does one recognize a poem as a chicken poem? Are we really able to define, limit and narrow the transcendent genre of chicken poetry and say with confidence that something cannot be a chicken poem? This line sparks much debate and many other lines of thinking, so if you're in need of chicken philosophers to unpack the implications of the statement, I would recommend the Chicken Fan Club as a place of discussion!

I would have to say this was my favorite part:

honk

HONK

For a serious review now, I felt that this was more of a philosophical poem than anything else. Things like, "Every goose is going somewhere, Sometimes there is no question, just a honk. There isn't more that can be said. I am only a goose." Very fun trying to wrap my head around what this is and what everything says. My eyes mainly went towards the tail and feet most likely due to those parts sticking out from the main body. Overall it was fun trying to comprehend!

Thank you for blessing us all with this masterpiece. Never in my life have such true words been spoken. You have touched my heart and left a tear down my cheek. Thank you!