The Battlefield
As I scratch-scritch-scratch, the paper – my draft -
Takes on the scene of a battlefield: a word bombed there,
A whole sentence taken out there. My scratches get deeper
and broader and pierce the paper at times.
I mumble to myself, pull my hair, slake my thirst,
Drag the pencil across my teeth, and rant at the scene
before me.
Out, out – no, that’s good, stay stay.
If at the end, I can locate my sanity,
It would have been worth the battle.
12 comments:
As soon as you see the prompt word(s) your mind freezes. I would never use those in what I write. Often in Australia the prompt might appear late at night and by the time you look at the site again in the morning there are 29 posts there already. Should you read them first? or ignore them and start alone. The next stage is your post and the battle begins. Great mirror I looked into in your post.
Lovely work! Love the scratch-scritch-scratch, nicely done!!
I like it, but lost serenity. Or were you tricking us?
Ooh, this poem has noise Di..like fingers down a black board..keep on scratching..get those words out..because, like this, it becomes a roaring tune (great first line) Jae
I'm not sure sanity can be found in the revision process. Seems to me the more I do it, the more lost I get until suddenly a spark lights and everything makes sense. If I'm lucky.
Thanks for all the comments. The Elephant's Child lost serenity, and that is pretty much what is happening for this writer polishing her/his piece. That's why if (s)he manages to find it by the time (s)he is done (assuming it is ever done), then it's been a good fight, no matter how badly the paper looks after.
Love the feeling in this piece.
Oh my! I can relate.This happens when a good piece is working hard to be born.
I like this poem! Try to relax, though. You are worrying me! lol.
This is supposed to be fun. I just write anything that pops into my head and if it stinks, so be it!
Hmm. The struggle to get the perfect words, the perfect line.
don't we all do this?
This is SO real for us. I write to the prompt first and then see what others have done, and yours is so true. Editing, trying to get it right, can be frustrating. My daughter is an artist and the hardest thing for her is to say, "It's done." Can't we all relate?
Peace, Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/04/15/the-drifter-3ww/
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