I have spent a lot of time talking to my cousin Rachael lately. She makes me laugh like no one else can, and just understands how I operate. I understand her ins-and-outs too for the most part, some aspects of her character still enigmas to me, but I genuinely enjoy talking to her on the phone more than texting her, which is rare considering that I don't have a lot of time to spend talking on the phone with anyone. The following poem is a mix of the two of us: our thoughts, our hobbies, our preferences, and our personalities. I have structured the poem so that each line in the three quatrains, and the two lines in the couplet create a fluid message, but contain our distinct qualities or thoughts in the individual lines. (example: third quatrain; lines 1 and 3 correspond to me, and lines 2 and 4 correspond to Rachael, but the four lines make a complete thought.) The arrangement of lines in this poem is a nod to our similarities in spite of our differences.
For now I'll sit in this brown chair, and think,
"Be bold enough to speak. This time will pass."
But no, I like the quiet now. Black ink
Preserves my unsaid words in class.
The clock will tick in sluggish, quiet clicks.
But I make tiny paper stars with not
A hope of shine or twinkle in their slips.
The sun streams through the glass. My skin feels hot.
I sit and eat my sweet and salty snacks,
The flavors swish around my mouth like wine.
I'm loving how it tastes, and in this class,
I learn no thing of value, but I'm fine.
I'll sit with ease and make my paper stars,
To think of travel, sex, and fine cigars.
Friday, November 29, 2013
No More Rubber Ducky for Me
I used to fit in the bathtub,
Bubbles, bath toys, and ducky.
Mom used Johnson's baby soap to scrub
My tiny body. As a child, I was so lucky.
I grew too tall and big for that,
So now I simply shower.
Not nearly as inviting, in fact,
I daresay it has nary any soothing power.
At one time I could be a mermaid!
To a child, a bathtub is like a pool!
As a teenager, I'll sit in the warm water, memories re-made.
Some parts of me warm, some parts of me cold and cool.
But just for kicks and giggles sometimes, even if it's a short while,
I'll fit myself into that bathtub, turn the water on, and smile.
Bubbles, bath toys, and ducky.
Mom used Johnson's baby soap to scrub
My tiny body. As a child, I was so lucky.
I grew too tall and big for that,
So now I simply shower.
Not nearly as inviting, in fact,
I daresay it has nary any soothing power.
At one time I could be a mermaid!
To a child, a bathtub is like a pool!
As a teenager, I'll sit in the warm water, memories re-made.
Some parts of me warm, some parts of me cold and cool.
But just for kicks and giggles sometimes, even if it's a short while,
I'll fit myself into that bathtub, turn the water on, and smile.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Antigone's Folly, Creon's Command: My Heartbreak
(Enter Ismene, following the exchange with Antigone -- aside)
I fear for my dear sister, Antigone, and her fervor to fight against Creon's will for our dead brother, Polynices. Our family, cursed by our ancestors Laius and Jacosta, carrying the burden of our father Oedipus unto his death. Even now the gods seek recompense in our bloodline for traitorous acts and disobedience to their will. Polynices, our brother and enemy of Thebes: his body left to the carrion birds outside the city gates, and Eteocles, buried in honor to his devotion to the Thebian people by decree of Creon. His command, the command of the King becomes the law of the State, the law that all are bound to. Antigone and I are not free from obedience despite our familial bond to King Creon. His decree to leave Polynices in ignominy, unwept and unburied where he lays, goes against the holiest law of heaven imposed on us by the gods. Although "I do not defy them; I cannot act / Against the State. I am not strong enough" (128). Does Antigone, my beloved "sister, [does she] forget how our father / Perished in shame and misery, his awful sin / Self-proved, blinded by his own self-mutilation?" (128). I do not wish, for any sacrifice of the greatest magnitude, the shame of an execution in defiance of Creon's will for my sister in her pursuit to honor our dead brother. In carrying out the will of the gods, she would surely bring death upon herself, and suffer at the cost of Creon's wrath and provincial stubbornness. After all, "we are women; it is not for us / To fight against men; our rulers are stronger than we, / And we must obey in this, or in worse than this" (128). Our charge in this city is to keep the command of Creon, and the rulers over Thebes. I would take any consequence from the gods to keep my sister alive, her name unscathed and memory free from shame in our loyalty to Polynices.
My heart's greatest desire is for Antigone to "remember those who love [her]... love [her] still" (129), and think on the cost at hand for her conviction to lie beside the brother who died, separated from the city of Thebes, from his family, and from his honor. She has tried to entreat me with reasoning that goes beyond what I can comprehend, her motivations and desperation are alarming. However, "I'll not betray [her] secret" even if "[she] is bound to fail" (129). (exit Ismene)
(Antigone brought to Creon and convicted for burying Polynices, enter Ismene, --aside)
I remember our cursed history, and it seems evident that the suffering did not end with the death of our brothers, but begins again with the law of Creon contravening with the law of the gods. Even upon Antigone's trial in the face of the King at the hands of the sentry, she remains resolute in her convictions. She faces death in payment for her defiance of Creon's law, but seeks reward from the gods for her loyalty to Polynices. But her reward in the grave with our brother is my sorrow, as one more life must be forfeit because of the sins of the King in authority over us. She wants to stand alone, "but I am not ashamed to stand beside [her] / Now in the hour of trial... / The strongest mind / Cannot but break under misfortune's blows" (141). An evil committed, a debt must be paid. If the debt must be Antigone's execution, then I will follow her in love unto death, even if must spend an eternity after crossing over to the gates of Hades. (exit Ismene)
I fear for my dear sister, Antigone, and her fervor to fight against Creon's will for our dead brother, Polynices. Our family, cursed by our ancestors Laius and Jacosta, carrying the burden of our father Oedipus unto his death. Even now the gods seek recompense in our bloodline for traitorous acts and disobedience to their will. Polynices, our brother and enemy of Thebes: his body left to the carrion birds outside the city gates, and Eteocles, buried in honor to his devotion to the Thebian people by decree of Creon. His command, the command of the King becomes the law of the State, the law that all are bound to. Antigone and I are not free from obedience despite our familial bond to King Creon. His decree to leave Polynices in ignominy, unwept and unburied where he lays, goes against the holiest law of heaven imposed on us by the gods. Although "I do not defy them; I cannot act / Against the State. I am not strong enough" (128). Does Antigone, my beloved "sister, [does she] forget how our father / Perished in shame and misery, his awful sin / Self-proved, blinded by his own self-mutilation?" (128). I do not wish, for any sacrifice of the greatest magnitude, the shame of an execution in defiance of Creon's will for my sister in her pursuit to honor our dead brother. In carrying out the will of the gods, she would surely bring death upon herself, and suffer at the cost of Creon's wrath and provincial stubbornness. After all, "we are women; it is not for us / To fight against men; our rulers are stronger than we, / And we must obey in this, or in worse than this" (128). Our charge in this city is to keep the command of Creon, and the rulers over Thebes. I would take any consequence from the gods to keep my sister alive, her name unscathed and memory free from shame in our loyalty to Polynices.
My heart's greatest desire is for Antigone to "remember those who love [her]... love [her] still" (129), and think on the cost at hand for her conviction to lie beside the brother who died, separated from the city of Thebes, from his family, and from his honor. She has tried to entreat me with reasoning that goes beyond what I can comprehend, her motivations and desperation are alarming. However, "I'll not betray [her] secret" even if "[she] is bound to fail" (129). (exit Ismene)
(Antigone brought to Creon and convicted for burying Polynices, enter Ismene, --aside)
I remember our cursed history, and it seems evident that the suffering did not end with the death of our brothers, but begins again with the law of Creon contravening with the law of the gods. Even upon Antigone's trial in the face of the King at the hands of the sentry, she remains resolute in her convictions. She faces death in payment for her defiance of Creon's law, but seeks reward from the gods for her loyalty to Polynices. But her reward in the grave with our brother is my sorrow, as one more life must be forfeit because of the sins of the King in authority over us. She wants to stand alone, "but I am not ashamed to stand beside [her] / Now in the hour of trial... / The strongest mind / Cannot but break under misfortune's blows" (141). An evil committed, a debt must be paid. If the debt must be Antigone's execution, then I will follow her in love unto death, even if must spend an eternity after crossing over to the gates of Hades. (exit Ismene)
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