Tagging lil
I've been writing poetry lately. People I've shown have been positive enough with it for me to keep going with it. I spoke this poem at a poetry slam last Wednesday, and people liked it too. I hope you do as well.
This poem started off from a conversation I was having with someone about how much post-apocalyptic media has been written, made, and filmed. But, because of how I write, sort of stream-of-consciousness, it started there and then went somewhere else.
Tokyo Architects
It’s easy to think about the apocalypse.
Not just because of
“these days” or because we
live in “interesting times.”
It has always taken more
energy to create than it has
to destroy, to build
the sand castle than to kick it
down, to be the architects of
Tokyo than to be Godzilla.
It has always taken more
energy to create than it has
to destroy, because
to create is to resist.
We create bridges to ford
the troubled waters of life, to
make passage easier for those
who come after us.
we build dams and levees
to hold back the oncoming storm,
to keep those who cannot run
safe against the tempers of Poseidon,
and the sound and fury of the North Wind.
We resist.
and of course, any architect in Tokyo
will tell you that resisting
an earthquake means being able
to bend and sway like a forest of bamboo.
Lithe, smoothly moving to and fro with
adversity, but never losing its roots.
and of course, any architect in Tokyo
will tell you that being faced
with a giant force of nature, like
Godzilla, or Mothra, or Rodan,
means watching everything you have
worked for falling to pieces as you
run for your life.
Bricks, bullets, and tear gas in the air,
riot shields SWAT teams, and
militia in your rear view.
Being an architect in Tokyo
means seeing all of that horror,
your friend being hit by a carelessly thrown car,
and then waking up in the emergency shelter,
putting on your best suit (a bit bloodstained),
and starting again.
It has always taken more
energy to create than it has
to destroy.
To create is to resist,
and to build up from nothing is to
persist in the face of absolute destruction,
a Tokyo downtown flattened by
an angry, raging creature.
We, like cockroaches, too tough to kill,
like a supreme court judge too stubborn
to die, will persist.
and like Tokyo Architects,
we will start again.
Dedicated to the Notorious RBG, Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I LOVE THIS POEM, spoons, it's great. I'd like to include it in my upcoming RESILIENCE workshop. It's so much about resilience. Also, I suggest dedicating it to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a supreme court judge too stubborn to die or retire. At 84, she plans to stay at least till 2020 so that Trump cannot name a US supreme court judge to replace her.
Thank you very much, lil! You are more than welcome to use it in your workshop. I don't know how one dedicates a poem to someone. I suppose one just says it, and it makes it so. I will edit in a dedication.
A beautiful sentiment. What guides you to part lines as you did there? Is there a rhythm or timing reason? Semantic grounds? Intuitive perception of style and/or meter?
It's sort of a timing thing, but it more specifically relates to two things. 1.) when I feel the line is done, which is sort of a wishy-washy sort of reason, but is linked to my gut feeling, which is also how I write. 2.) similar phrases are sometimes linked similarly. If you notice, every time the phrase energy to create than it has to destroy. comes up, it is written with the exact same words, and written with the exact same line breaks. It's a structurally important phrase, and making it look the exact same way each time is a way of pointing that out. It has always taken more
This adds evidence to my theory that poetry is a mostly intuitive, feeling (as opposed to thinking) endeavor. The best things seem to come out when we act on what we feel is right. I'm not a poetry man, but I've always been curious. I've written poems, but they were painstakingly crafted by hand as opposed to flowing out of me (which is also a sentiment I heard from a girl in the university who writes poetry). In the example you gave, I wonder why you didn't break the line on the infinitive: to create than it has to destroy It seems to line up nicely, creating a refrain — a powerful tool to our pattern-seeking minds — as well as visual and semantic symmetry. "energy" is not the important part here: it's the antithesis of the creative and the destructive which you compare all the way throughout the poem. What do you think? It has always taken more energy
I mean, my only defence is that to me, the original way looks more correct to me. Also to contrast you, I think that "energy" is the most important part - It's what we're talking about, after all. It is, in some ways, the subject of the poem: energy as a metaphor for resilience. If I was going to edit it to change the emphasis to the creation and destruction, I would write ti this way: more energy to create than it has to destroy. which makes the amount of "energy" needed to read each line reflect the differing amounts of energy needed for creation and destruction. It has always taken
I agree: it looks good that way. Take my word with a grain of salt. I may have a certain amount of taste, but poetry is beyond me. Do what you think is best. Lots of inspiration to you and your writing.