The Issue of a Singular Act

[JoelJosol]

The rains erased what had been

a whole picture of you.

 

Reduced to myriad pieces

on the marble floor like a puzzle,

 

I see no single match

to light a fire inside a room.

 

A broken voice is insistent.

 

The need to act is a reaction

against the sound of tick-tock.

 

But the seriality of my singular act

is no match.

 

Am I enough?

Edited October 27, 2009 by JoelJosol

[tonyv]

Joel, I like how you say,

 

I see no no single match

to light a fire inside a room,

and how the possibility for multiple meanings presents itself, later in the poem, in your repetition of the word match:

 

But the seriality of my singular act

is no match.

I'm not sure if you intended that, but it works.

 

In the end the speaker asks something that is undoubtedly on many people's minds:

 

Am I enough?

His style is direct. He's not afraid to ask; he asks the question outright.

 

Tony

[JoelJosol]

Thanks, tony. This is an experiment in "fragment" poetry writing where the entire scene is told without outright coherence.

[Aleksandra]

I like this start Joel:

 

The rains erased what had been

a whole picture of you.

 

This is an experiment in "fragment" poetry writing where the entire scene is told without outright coherence.

I like it and you give a nice try. I am going now back to read again.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Aleksandra

[JoelJosol]

Thanks for the read, too, Aleks.

[Lake]

Joel,

 

I'm with Tony on the use of "match", it creats a nice duality.

I also like how you started the poem by setting up a scene.

I like the image in S2 too, but a bit unsure what is reduced in

Reduced to myriad pieces

on the marble floor like a puzzle,

At first I read it as the "whole picture of you" is reduced to...

but then it is followed by the main clause

I see no single match

to light a fire inside a room.

Am I reading it right?

 

 

PS: I know I'm slow but with these many new features on this new forum, I still haven't worked out how to reply. When I click "reply", the attached post will show in my reply box and I have to delete it later. Also, I couldn't read other replies at the time when I post mine. Am I clumsy?

Edited October 29, 2009 by Lake

[JoelJosol]

Joel,

 

I'm with Tony on the use of "match", it creats a nice duality.

I also like how you started the poem by setting up a scene.

I like the image in S2 too, but a bit unsure what is reduced in

Am I reading it right?

 

Lake, you and Tony are right, in my dual use of match. This poem is a new way of writing by avoiding coherence in its narrative or plot and images. In a sense, it pretends to have a narrative or plot but actually it is a collection of thoughts and images. A local national poet calls this form 'collage' or 'fragments'. The term was popularized by Anne Lauterbach, an American poet.

[Lake]

Lake, you and Tony are right, in my dual use of match. This poem is a new way of writing by avoiding coherence in its narrative or plot and images. In a sense, it pretends to have a narrative or plot but actually it is a collection of thoughts and images. A local national poet calls this form 'collage' or 'fragments'. The term was popularized by Anne Lauterbach, an American poet.

 

It must be hard to write somthing without coherence. No wonder I kept asking "what is reduced to..."? Very good experiment, write something without rational and logic. I need this. I'll check it out.

 

Thanks Joel for the inspiration.

 

Lake

[JoelJosol]

You're welcome.