Wednesday, July 16, 2008

To Replace the Old

This is a poem I wrote one day; it hasn't been revised at all and I need some critique. It's a fairly cliched topic, so pardon anything that seems so.


I watch her as she steps outside
for the first time in our world
her dress flutters in the wind
bare feet flow in the grass
she has slept for far too long
awakened in a new place.

He watches me, i know he does
a gaze beats into the back of my head
it's like I'm newborn
this world is just that strange to me
a place, a place out of a dream.

Skyscrapers no longer adorn the skyline
cities are frowned upon,
primarily out of fear,
no human desires to repeat the past  
computers are no longer in existence
music players are extinct
entertainment is nothing more than voices
either simply just tales 
or song of beauty.

It is peaceful
there is no hurrying to or fro
stress is nonexistent
working together
creating a new, better world
that is the only solution
for man's destruction has been great.

This world, it has made me see
i shudder at my long-dead friends
and the horror that they caused
how horrid must it have been to survive
that oh-so horrible warring time
civilization has finally caused it's final disaster.

She takes a step and i wonder
what does she think of all this
it is new to her
for she says she is old
her world has been destroyed
but, perhaps, it can be replaced with the new. 

1 comment:

Ingrid said...

Essentially, the poem lacks intensity and focus. When you begin with "watching" you establish a rather passive voice. Can you find a more potent beginning?

Also the language is rather pedestrian - perhaps intentionally? "stress," "music players," "computers"....these flat, ordinary words do not carry much weight.

You have a mixture of stillness and (very slight) movement. If stillness is what you want to convey, see if you can convey that to the max.

Hope that helps!

I admire how prolific you are these days, Tamar!