I love me

This is a serious poetry forum not a "love-in". Post here for more detailed, constructive criticism.
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AnonymousPoet
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 6:36 pm

Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:09 pm

Lips like a straight edge.
Glossy eyes; almost high.
Silent type,

Doesn't say much,
Quite, concise; mostly.

Emotional.
But I can’t tell you why,
Looks like, life in a barrel

Closed sky, encircled
Blue ceiling.
Puffs of white drifting by.

Puffs of smoke, headphones:
Listing to songs from before my time.
Antcliff
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Posts: 6599
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:35 am
Location: At the end of stanza 3

Fri Jan 02, 2015 2:40 pm

Hi

I rather liked this line..
Looks like, life in a barrel
Hope that the comma is redundant and you are saying thay they look like life is a barrel?

Wonder why there a comma here?
Quite, concise
Not sure. Should it be "listening"?
Listing to songs from before my time.
Seth
We fray into the future, rarely wrought
Save in the tapestries of afterthought.
Richard Wilbur
AnonymousPoet
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 6:36 pm

Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:31 am

Antcliff wrote:Hi

I rather liked this line..
Looks like, life in a barrel
Hope that the comma is redundant and you are saying thay they look like life is a barrel?

Wonder why there a comma here?
Quite, concise
Not sure. Should it be "listening"?
Listing to songs from before my time.
Seth
Some really good points, thank you. I definitely need to revise.
k-j
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Posts: 3004
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 10:37 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:48 am

I suppose the title was fair warning but this comes across as not much more than a narcissistic poem. It's not bad writing although I don't think it's especially interesting or fun either. I do like "quite concise, mostly", the mostly is quite funny. And I dig the note of irony in "emotional".

I think until the last two lines the poem still has the potential to say something striking, but it just seems to disappear into nothingness. Listening to songs before your time, OK, but so what? Don't lots of people do that? By itself it doesn't seem to say very much.

Perhaps what it would benefit from is some strong negative, some harsh self-criticism to deflect the charge of vacant navel-gazing.
fine words butter no parsnips
ray miller
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Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:23 am

Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:08 am

I like this. I think the ending is suitably downbeat, disparaging. You do mean listening to songs...?
The best bit

Emotional.
But I can’t tell you why,
Looks like, life in a barrel

Quite, concise; mostly. - I wondered if you meant Quiet.
I'm out of faith and in my cups
I contemplate such bitter stuff.
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