She forages words
like others gather harvests;
one word at a time.1
She hears it spoken
and, quick! Ensnares its meaning,
trapping it with ink.2
Every letter bleeds
black blood onto the paper.
The words scream, frozen. 3
Dead! They are all dead,
forced into empty stasis
forever defined. 4
They change no longer.
The paper is the graveyard.
I sing in mourning. 5
Author notes
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Edited original A.N. because I realized it was both: 1, an unpopular opinion that, really, made no sense when delved into and 2, longer than the actual poem.
(And did I mention that I'm lazy? Very lazy? Too lazy to want to debate about an admittedly fascinating topic?) :-D
A contest entry
- The Poet's Challenge -- Round III by Asfand.
100 points, ended January 11, 2008, 5 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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Got here a bit too late to see the original AN, so no comments on that debate, but as for the poem itself - fantastic work, as always. The imagery of the hunting and foraging for words was both gripping and strikingly simple, and the graveyard line made me shiver. Excellent job.
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'I dun really like slang, making probably prolly, and the speelings of the shops, stuff. Okay, for learned people tha's okay but now you ask a youngster the spelling of stationery, it's always stashonary - like many of the shops in my country. Umm....
Verr very original idea, however not one really suited for a Haiku, though you did really nail it, using imagery and plastered metaphors. Wonderful job! -
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I have never heard the term "stashonary" before, but if it catchs on in the US, I think I'm going to bang my head against the wall. It bugs me enough that stores spell it "rite" instead of "right" and "kwik" instead of "quick."
...But then again, people have often called me overly critical. *grins*
Thanks for the review.
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I also have to disagree with you, the vernacular is always changing and new dictionaries are always being printed. It does take time for a newer definition to be added to the dictionary, but you can't expect the pronunciation of knight to have changed overnight either. A good example of how the definitions of words have changed can be found in "Unfortunate English" by Bill Brohaugh. Any spoken language is constantly in a state of change. Don't even get me started on punctuation.
I still love the poem and the idea behind it though.
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Love the poem, but I'll have to disagree with you on the fluidity of language.
Have you ever taken trips to different parts of the US? Our own country (supposing you're American) is full of its own curious dialects and vernacular. Not just Southern drawls and New England whines, but slang and accents from our ancestors that make everything unique and interesting. By the way, you should really read the book "The Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson. It's hilarious, and it talks about these kinds of things, how English has changed, its slanges and weird points, and whether it will continue to change.
I like that you based a work of literature ABOUT literature; very neat. Just don't think that the 'freezing' of English is a bad thing (it keeps us on top, globally) or that it's really happening. It's just happening slowly right now.
Good job! I promise to judge you officially soon.
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