Cut the line, if you do not want to hear what I’m saying.
Burn the page, if you do not like what you see.
I don’t have the habit of repeating myself
over and over again just to be understood.
Somehow, there will come a time that explanations
are not required. Questions are left unsaid
out of courtesy, while your mind is bubbling
with doubts, you need to accept me of who I am.
Like this, we talk on the phone without expression.
The heavy tone of your voice means a disappointment.
You’re definitely upset when I can’t catch you. And you
can’t catch me as we are both lost in translation.
Let us stop this virtual war. This undue vexation
of words coated in the niceties of being cerebral.
Can’t we simply talk as normal humans do,
caught in the flimsiness of conduct and etiquette?
You see, I didn’t plan to have more than five
stanza to this poem and keep on intellectualizing
on how stupid it was to win our every argument.
You know, sometimes you do not have to fight
every battles you are invited in. Just choose-
the best one. And argue with me. Fine.
Solitude Amidst the Maddening Crowd
love those last three lines,… so very true!
dear sarah,
thank you for the appreciation. regards to you and all the best.
Last lines – as ebbtide said – so true (I wish I could remember them when in the heat of pointless battles)
M.L.
dear M.L.,
i wish i could remember them too. thanks for liking the poem. all the best to you.
I like the element of frankness here, the tone is direct to the point of sarcasm and the wit has an undertone to humor, but then to awaken at the same time. This element is common in the 18th century english Limerick, but unlike the limerick which is nonesensical, the point expressed in this poem makes a lot of sense.
The limerick form when followed to the T is a five line 18th century english poetry that follows the rhyme scheme of AA-BBA of one couplet and one triplet. The scheme is too limiting though. It is interesting to note that somewhere in the rhetoric you actually mentioned the poem was intended to be short – 5 stanzas, but it just goes on and on – which reminds me of my poem, “30′s and Still single” where I also used the element of sarcasm to humor but would not fit in five lines like the limerick so it ended in 10 lines.
http://jeques.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/30s-and-still-single/
I was studying the Limerick when I wrote the poem. It is always good to know poetic patterns and forms out of respect for the poets from other generations – but we always have the freedom to modify, but still know that somewhere in time there was a poet that inspired us or if not, it is great to discover that another poet from different time actually wrote poetry like we do now.
My favorite poetry form is still the shakespearean sonnet, it’s one of the most difficult poetry form to follow to the T, but the most rewarding. I just wish I have the time like I used to have to make sonnets again; when my craftsmanship as a poet is tested to extremes. That’s why I plan to return home when I’m 50, to give myself full-time to write poetry and create art. By then, I should have travelled the world already and collected enough tools to write about. I wish we still continue to collaborate poetry by then.
I wish you well.
~ Jeques
dear jeques,
reading what you have just written about makes our discussion scholarly. i commend you for the effort of explaining the many poetic forms, specifically the poem structure of limerick and sonnets. though, i had written some before, but crudely done. however, thanks for refreshing my memory on poetry structures.
i am more concerned on the topic and idea that i am discussing through poems. a spark to start conversation and tickling imagination about things and thoughts which are often taken for granted. so i freely write poems without the restriction of poetic structure. it is quite difficult to constrain the natural flow of thoughts in a pattern, so i guess blank versing and free versing is suitable for me. however, that’s a comfort zone i must break through.
i do hope that when the time is ripe for you to retire and settle back in our homeland, you may be given all the strength and resources to flourish your art and writing. i do hope you publish your books and be able to have your paintings hanged in museum walls and art galleries of the country. thanks so much for your readership and encouragement, i appreciate it so much. godspeed.
wow ha..tula lang ba toh? hehehe bakit ako di ko naeexperience yan..ah madalas kasi ako ang ganun..chos!!! nice way of expressing your feelings..wish mamana ko ang galing mo sa pagtranslate ng feelings mo sa letra tulad nito…
ingat!
regards,
jeck
dear jecka,
tula lang yan, hehehehe. i need to write to keep me balanced and stable, magaling ka din naman in your own way, i read your write-ups, they have heart and soul, yun ang mahalaga. regards friend.
i just love that intellectual in you! aaahhh I’d love to kiss your brain hehehe, whew, blown away here as always…
dear zen,
i do not know how to respond to your comment, as if my alter-ego who is waxing poetic must have been the one needing the applause from you. thank you and it is such a great honor to read your nice comment. all the best.
I often feel like I’m eavesdropping on part of your life, when I read your poems.
dear val,
i feel so blessed to see you again, thanks for your comment. well, if you feel that way, i guess, it’s just part of my ongoing internalization when i am writing poems. i put myself in the shoes of my imaginary characters, that’s why. but i would not deny the fact that some snippet of emotions are actually mine.
thanks once again and all the best.