I Used To Be Everything

by mandax

Published January 12, 2007

Each time I thought, "I love you,"
A star joined the night sky.
So gaze above and think about
your affection's alibi.

Each time I craved to hold you,
I was the breeze that would embrace.
So question why the wind has gone
and left without a trace.

Each time I saw the rain fall,
I'd beg the clouds to part.
So wonder why you feel
a constant storm within your heart.

Comments & reviews · 4
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Snoink
Review
Snoink wrote a review Review · Jan 17, 2007

It doesn't flow properly. You're trying to use parallelism to achieve a fluid effect, which is good, but your words aren't going along. This is because of word choice.

So...

Each time I thought, "I love you,"
A star joined the night sky.

So when you write poetry, it has to lull. When I read this out loud it looks like this (as far as voice goes)

strong weak strong weak strong weak strong
strong strong weak weak strong strong

That probably looks like gibberish, but actually, it's where the stresses are pretty much put. A stress is mostly words. What words sound strong? In other places, time might stand out, but between "each" and "I," the word "time" doesn't really stick out, so it's good. So it has to do partly by the sound it makes and partly where it's place.

That's a very very brief synopsis, and probably bad at that, so ask Incandescence or backgroundbob for more information, if you want it. ^_^

For me, especially in rhyming poetry, I want to have a seesaw effect where it goes up and down a lot. The first line does this to some extent, but it's the second line that kills it for me. It has all these strong words smushed together in the front with a weak ending.

So look at the poem and figure out what words you want to emphasize and what words you want to hide away, and then write it as such. At the moment, the rhythm is killing it though.

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mandax
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mandax commented Comment · Jan 17, 2007

Aw, would more people please comment this one? I have a feeling it's a little too corny ... I need help.

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mandax
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mandax commented Comment · Jan 13, 2007

Ah, thank you! And yes, I completely agree. I'll make that correction. =]

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Jess_14
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Jess_14 commented Comment · Jan 13, 2007

This is so beautiful in it's simplicity! The only thing I would change though, is move the "a constant" (3rd stanza, third line) to the beginning of the fourth line. It adds more structure and rythm, don't you think? =)

Take care,



Be careful or be roadkill.
— Calvin