Parallelism | Teen Ink

Parallelism

July 25, 2011
By J-blotting-ink SILVER, Kalamazoo, Michigan
J-blotting-ink SILVER, Kalamazoo, Michigan
8 articles 6 photos 20 comments

Being a poet is a funny thing,
Sometimes words and minutes flow at the same rate and it's all my pen can do to keep up.
Other times I roll myself up like a tube of toothpaste,
Trying to squeeze out those last stubborn sentences.

But every now and again, my mind is flattened by some falling phrase,
Something random and uncomfortable,
Like my muse just sent me a drunken text message.

"Your pulse runs parallel to the Earth."

I have no idea what that means.
I keep turning it over and over like a locket rusted shut,
One that I discovered, but could never create.

Poetry is the verbal expression of perpetual motion, but not everything is within its reach.
And maybe these enigmatic shards of language don't come from me.
Maybe they come from that never-ending space between the Earth and your pulse.

It's as if human blood circled a path that never intersected with an interstellar orbit.
As if a beating heart could equal its force.
As if words were always enough.


The author's comments:
This is another piece I wrote for the sake of performance. I don't like these as well as lifeless text.

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This article has 2 comments.


JRaye PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 27 2014 at 9:36 pm
JRaye PLATINUM, Dorr, Michigan
43 articles 10 photos 523 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you."

"Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, 'I just don't care.'?"

This is amazing! I normally don't like poetry, but this just felt so honest, so simple yet elgant. The ending might be my favorite part: "As if words were always enough." I feel like words can move mountains too - it's the reason I'm a writer. You're truly giftd - incredible job :)

on Jan. 27 2014 at 5:28 pm
Amaranthinium GOLD, Dade City, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not let numbers tell you what to do. You are blood and earth, not theory and chalk." -Welcome to Night Vale

I really love this poem - unique phrases and a wonderful description of poetry and language. I especially like that line, "poetry is the verbal expression of perpetual motion" - really cool. And it's true, sometimes weird phrases just kind of pop into your head and you don't know what to do with them at first!