Cinquain

I cry.

With no control

tears form into puddles,

sadness consumes my heavy heart.

Help me.

The form I choose to write was Cinquain. I decided to use this form of poetry because while reading through the other various forms, this one jumped to me and I immediately started putting syllables together to form this poem. The poem has more of a somber tone, with the theme being heartache and helplessness, however I leave it up to the reader to decide why the person is feeling this way. There are could be multiple meanings, the interpretations are endless. This makes the poem more relate able because everyone has felt this way before, just not all for the same reason. I stuck with the form's rules with the five lines going from two syllables, to four, to six, to eight, and then back to two again. Even though the poem doesn't rhyme, the even number of syllables helps it flow a bit. This form works well with the feeling I was trying to invoke, because even though there are not many of words, there is still a strong powerful somber emotion behind it. It indirectly explains in detail about being hurt and sad, instead of directly stating it from the gecko. This form is simple and straightforward, so it wasn't as complicated to do, especially since I'm not so good at poetry. Instead of making the reader think, the ideas aren't so abstract where it gets confusing. The imagery, such as "tears form into puddles", indicates to the reader that the speaker is more than just sad; it is more intense than that. This form of poem can either directly state something or leave something up for interpretation and that is what i like about it.

David Gessner

David Gessner has a unique style of writing to go along with his quirky personality. Last semester I took English 180 which was about nature in literature, so I actually already read his book Return of the Osprey for class. I also watched numerous youtube videos on him, including the one he opened with at his reading on Monday. From learning all about him, I expected his reading to be a bit out there and for his dry, sarcastic humor to bring up some laughter from the audience. The reading turned out to be interesting and engaging, however I wasn't convinced after to buy his book and read it.

It's not that I don't like his writing or the way he speaks through the page; I believe his words to be raw and powerful as he expresses his own ideas without protecting anybody or anything. It's like he said during his reading, "To write well, you have to be an asshole." This is true for him as that he does not censor how it really feels on any certain subject.

The only thing that loses my interest is the subject that he writes on; wildness. I don't like to read about nature or the wild and our effects on it. This subject is boring to me and makes me want to put the book down and do something else with my time. I would rather read something else with more of a plot or climax, or at least something that I can relate too. I have no interest nor nothing in common with the wild so reading about it isn't my top priority or something I would do in my spare time.

Death

Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson, published in 1890
Because I could not stop for Death
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the School, where Children strove
At recess in the ring
We passed the fields of gazing grain
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us
The dews drew quivering and chill
For only Gossamer, my gown
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the GROUND
The roof was scarcely visible
The cornice in the ground.

Since then 'tis centuries and yet
Feels shorter than the DAY
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.


Faced with two Choices by Kris Stasik

As the wheels turned on and on

And moon entered the sky

Death turned around and faced me

And stared into my eyes.

He did not need to offer

For I already knew

The complicated dilemma

He was to put me through.

I had a choice, you see

I was not fully dead

I could lie within the ground

Or ride with him instead

He needed a companion,

For his never-ending ride

 A life of immortality

With a partner by his side.

I looked up to the stars

And contemplated in my head

To ride with him to eternity

Or to be in a grave instead

I turned around to face him

Eyes piercing into his

I took a slow breath and replied

“I am not meant to live.”

Double Life

today is going to be a pain

wishing and hoping you had something to gain

tension rises, troubles erupt

making your day go corrupt

you fail your exam, you miss your class

you slip down the stairs and fall on your ass

loosing control, you break down

praying you day will just turn around

today is going to be a breeze

you take it in stride and fill it with ease

problems fade, worries disappear

you live your life without any fears

you ace your test, you're early to class

your day turns out to be a blast

you're filled with joy, and full of bliss

this is a day you will surely miss

this is your destiny

your fate written in the stars

there's no changing, no alteration

you have to except who you are

you must be a Gemini.

New Perspective

Original: I tried to move but I couldn’t. I tried to raise my arms, lift my legs, roll my ankles, wiggle my fingers, but it was impossible. I couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, couldn’t understand. I was trapped; paralyzed inside my own body with my mind as the only functioning object. Panic set in. What’s happening? Why am I like this? Where is everyone? Lifting my incredibly heavy eyelids seemed to be an improbable task, as if I were lifting a 200 ton whale instead. I wanted to scream, break the silence and try to wake up from this nightmare. But I couldn’t. This wasn’t a dream; this was reality and whether I liked it or not there was nothing I could do. Suddenly, as if someone turned on a switch, I felt something. Dozens of fingers reached under me, trailing along my back and sides like spiders scurrying around. Voices danced around my ears, but they were too distant to comprehend. Abruptly I was flung into the air, with dainty fingers supporting me, and then placed down onto a bed. I felt an endless supply of pillows beneath me, taking my shape as I laid on top. I peeled back my eyelids and a glaring light flooded my vision. Faces began to take shape, each one more different than the next, with their wide eyes staring at me, piercing into my soul. One woman smiled and put her hand on mine. I blacked out.

Revision: I watched her as she laid there. Even though she wasn't awake, nor could she move her body right now, I could tell there was was a look of pain upon her face. She must have been panicing; I know I would be. Even though I have helped assisst in these procedures many times before, each person was different. They had a different atittude, a different effect, a different process. Me being only a doctor meant I only knew the scientific aspect of the procedure, not the emotional part. I couldn't understand how this young girl felt right now or the questions she must be asking. She looks so helpless, so fragile. Along with my fellow colleagues, I reached my hands under her and helped transfer her from one bed to the other. When we put her down her eyes flew opened and looked up at all of us, wearing a look of confusion and pain. I stared at her and when she looked at me I smiled and put my hand on hers. Then she fell unconcious once again.

What's The Time?

Time.

Noun - The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.

Verb – Plan, schedule, or arrange when (something) should happen or be done.

Synonyms – age, season, epoch, hour, term, date, era

Or so it is defined by Google. But time is not just simply that. Time is more. Time is the thing we love but the thing we also fear. It is what we need but not always what we want. It contorts itself, swimming all around us in our minds, in our soul. Time can end up being our greatest friend or our worst enemy.

Time is a beauty. As she wraps her delicately pressed arms around you, you become encompassed in her; suffocating yourself in all her wonder. You realize that you can’t get enough, you want more. And then not just more. You want it all. You want all the time you can possibly have, spending it as you please. Whether you need more time to work, more time with a loved one, more time in your day, you eat it all up. Time feeds your intense hunger, but never truly satisfies. You get lost in yourself, lost in time, until at the end of the day, you are just lost. Time constantly gives, but at a cost.

Time is a curse. With her powerful rage and deep fury, time can leave us at a state of perplexity. Just as she can give you time, she can also take it away. She can grab those precious moments right out of your hands, pull them back and keep them as her own. She can have you begging on your knees, degrading yourself to petty and unworthy. She can speed up time when you don’t seem to have enough, all while laughing down on you wearing her cruel smile. Time can come to haunt you, lurking around every corner unable to escape this life full of misery. Time will relentlessly ruin your life, making you forever wishing you never had an encounter with her. Time is destruction.

Time is a burden. Sometimes she gives you more than you need, more than you want. At times you wish you had less just to get to whatever is next. She can make minutes feel like hours, hours feel like days, and days feel like years. You want to get away but you can’t. You’re stuck playing this idiotic game with her, stuck withering away. And just when you thought she’s gone, she’s back again giving more time to waste. Time is an encumbrance.

Time can be a helping hand or a villain to escape. At one time or another she will be both to you. Time is always there, ever-changing and unexplainable. Time is a mysterious being; nothing is ever truly known about her. While half the world wishes they had more of her and the other wishes they didn’t, in the end what she does is her decision.  Time is much more than that simple Google definition. Time is a mythical being unlike any other, who is always with you no matter what.