Composed upon Viewing Clive Barker's "Book of Blood"

[tonyv]

No longer can I lump this lovers' load.
Could it be time to whet the knife? The dark
knows well that I must scour this winding road,
cold highlands and the raw lowlands, the stark
reminders of her crying, angry skin.

I cannot even nurse her back to health.
For she is now, no end to my chagrin,
an artifact placed high upon a shelf
without her other, destitute of self.

________________
BOOK OF BLOOD

[Aleksandra]

Hi, Tony. First the "Book of Blood" is not familiar to me. I have never seen it. But your poem is something that I could pick out even in a hundred poems by others.

 

This viewing of yours is expressed very well and very poetically. I don't know how well this poem matches up to the movie, but as a poem itself it works in the best way. I remember how at first the poem was quite different, but you never stay on the very first point when you write. With your ability for writing and thinking, you could even make a few different poems from one selection of raw material Tony. Are you aware of that? . If I were you, I would have made a series out of one selection of your raw material. Ok I can talk about this, because I happen to have been honored to see your raw material on this and some other poems.

 

highlands/lowlands is very tactical, and the second stanza is remarkable.

 

A good one, again.

 

Aleksandra

[Aleksandra]

Now, when I know the story about this movie, the poem gets even better. I can't believe how precisely you wrote this poem, and how you adapted it from the movie, resulting in a totally new creation.

 

Thank you, Tony. Thank you very much for sharing your way of drawing poetry, even from a movie, in such a perfect way.

I am excited to read this again :).

 

Aleksandra

[dedalus]

A lovely measured poem (I'm waiting to hear the formal name of the ryming scheme ... a b a b c, d c d d: although written in nine lines it doesn't take the form of a Rainis) -- on a less than lovely topic! Very accomplished, Tony. Clive Barker, scratching his head, would probably need to have it explained to him ....

Edited October 16, 2010 by dedalus

[tonyv]

Thank you, Alek, for your kind remarks. You know it sat in the queue for a long time. Thanks for convincing me not to scrap it and for encouraging me to finish it.

 

Tony

[tonyv]

And thank you, Brendan, for your observations. The funny thing is, the whole time since I posted this, I thought I had written a Rainis sonnet. I set out to write a Rainis sonnet, but when I came here to make my replies, I realized that, though I've closely mimicked the form, I used too many rhymes! :icon_redface: My bona fide Rainis sonnets include JUNK, ANTHONY'S CHARCOAL PIT, and THE ULTRAMONTANE. This poem started out as fourteen lines, five of which I scrapped to come up with this. I suppose I've ended up with sort of a quasi Rainis sonnet. In any case, I'm glad you liked it!

 

Tony

[Aleksandra]

Thank you, Alek, for your kind remarks. You know it sat in the queue for a long time. Thanks for convincing me not to scrap it and for encouraging me to finish it.

 

Tony

 

Not at all, Tony :) . It's my pleasure if I get the credit for the survival of this poem :) , and that this poem got the light and saw its morning ;) .

 

I'll save more of your poetry, that stays lonely and forgotten by its author :icon_eek: .

[dr_con]

Tony,

 

I do love mr. barker, but less for his 'blood' work than his speculative fiction like Weave World etc. Although the poem did inspire me to put it on our netflix Que! ;-) We shall see it might be fun, but the poem was lovely and appropriate for this time of year;-)

 

Many Thanks!

 

 

DC&J

[tonyv]

Thanks, Juris! I didn't even consider the timing, but it does seem appropriate. :)

 

Tony

[Tinker]

Hi Tony, I don't know the movie but I am thrilled to see someone take inspiration from a movie or book and run with it. Whatever inspired this, it put chills up my spine. The riding rhyme seems to move the poem along smoothing out the rhythm of the lines and making it all the more creepy. I love it. Even with the expanded rhyme, I would call this a Rainis Sonnet if I had to put it in a box. The beauty is, the form compliments the content whether 3 rhymes or 4 or 5.

 

~~Tink

[goldenlangur]

Hi Tony,

 

As ever, your work surprises and delights in equal measure.

 

Love this line:

 

 

... the stark

reminders of her crying, angry skin.

 

 

Thank you for the link. Your poem succeeds in giving a human face to its macabre motif.

 

 

 

_____________

[tonyv]

Hi Tony, I don't know the movie but I am thrilled to see someone take inspiration from a movie or book and run with it.

Thank you, Tinker. I've seen you do it at least once, probably more than once, and I'm glad I was able to pull it off.

 

Even with the expanded rhyme, I would call this a Rainis Sonnet if I had to put it in a box. The beauty is, the form compliments the content whether 3 rhymes or 4 or 5.

And this is encouraging. I've often thought I'd written a sonnet only to discover in the end that the product only had thirteen lines. Then I'd start a mad dash to fix it, because a few times I'd even posted it already, lol.

 

Tony

[tonyv]

Hi Tony,

 

As ever, your work surprises and delights in equal measure.

 

Love this line:

 

 

... the stark

reminders of her crying, angry skin.

Thanks, Goldenlangur. I like that line, too. They're few and far between for me, but once in awhile I'll surprise even myself.

 

Tony