What is a poem? Edited

by ArahniaSiddel

Published May 17, 2010

Poems are as peaceful as the swaying of a tree
And as violent as the churning sea
They describe everything
From snow melting when it hits a lake
To a little girl baking a birthday cake
~I know this poem isn't good so feel free to rip it apart and burn the pieces~
~This second one is now edited. I am not sure if it sounds better.~

Swinging
up-
down
up-
down-
up-
Close your eyes as you hang suspended in the air
In a world of blue
Pumping your legs
You could swing forever always in the sky but no,
Up-
down
up-
down
up-
JUMP
~I like this poem better, but still feel free to do what you must.~
A. S.

Comments & reviews · 5
fight4whatisright wrote a review Review · May 18, 2010

hi
wow i think the first poem was the best, the second was ok. i had to read it twice to realize it was talking about actually swinging, like at a park. the camp song thing really confused me.

ziggiefred wrote:
From snow melting when it hits a lake
To a little girl baking a birthday cake

I love these lines. They are unexpected and true. And they also bring a lot of emotions and images to the table and that is good. But I think it sounds better if you omit 'birthday'.

i disagree. i think having the word birthday gives the poem nice rhythm and makes the cake easier to picture.
great job :D

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ArahniaSiddel
Comment
ArahniaSiddel commented Comment · May 18, 2010

Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate it, and I have made a few changes to the second one. I might expand on the second one later like you said. :) I should have edited the second one before I put it up sorry. Thanks again
A. S.

User avatar
Kale
Review
Kale wrote a review Review · May 17, 2010

Your first poem could do with a whole lot of expansion. Right now, I feel like you were going somewhere, but then you suddenly dropped it. Explain how poems are the way you say they are, and I think you'll have a nice, strong poem on your hands.

Your second poem looks visually interesting, but the lines with the ellipses are a bit repetitive, and it got annoying after the second time. A different way of getting your readers to pause would be to use line breaks and a combination of either m-dashes or spacing. For example:

up--
down
up--
down

This is much easier to read.

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ziggiefred
Review
ziggiefred wrote a review Review · May 17, 2010

Hello
Oh, so there are two poems here? If it is only one poem then I will consider them as two poems because that's what it looks like...and I'll have to say, the second one is just weird, lol. Wow!
Alright, now for a proper review :D, I think the 'first' poem is lovely, because it is how you see a poem from your point of view and I think its lovely. And the part where you say,

From snow melting when it hits a lake
To a little girl baking a birthday cake

I love these lines. They are unexpected and true. And they also bring a lot of emotions and images to the table and that is good. But I think it sounds better if you omit 'birthday'.

The 'second' poem...it was fun. It kind of reminds me when I was a kid and flexible (that is part of what I am picturing). I think though that the full stops and the ups downs are just too much for one setting. I was actually drifting off a bit there. But in general, I like your style. Keep on doing what you do :)



Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.
— Enid Bagnold