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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

To my comrades-in-words

pen; pencil; keyboard
notebook; napkin; internet
it matters not
your weapon of choice
nor where you lay siege

when you - my fellow word-wielders -
draw a line in the sand
you dare yourself

to defend truth and honor
to see beauty in the ugliest
    of places
to see light in the darkness

but also (and just as importantly)

to cull lies and wrong-doings
to see wickedness in the wondrous
    of places
to see darkness within the light

when you – my fellow word-wielders –
draw a line in the sand
you dare the world

to open their eyes
to take in their surroundings
to understand the power of
    love and hate

and hopefully

to embrace the truth & lies
to look beneath the surface of
    beauty & wickedness
to speak up against the darkness
    & in the light

pen; pencil; keyboard
notebook; napkin; internet
it matters not
your weapon of choice, dear poet,
nor where you lay siege, my friend,

but how deftly
(in wielding your words)
you pierce the heart.



Inspiration for this piece:  Over at dVerse Poets Pub, festivities are brewing.  The celebration of three years is being kickstarted with odes, either to a specific poet or poets in general.  I don't know much about odes, but....  If you get a chance (and haven't already), check out the festivities at the Pub and all the odes that are floating around over there.

A note on the ending:  The ending gave me pause for quite a bit.  Trying to find the right way to get across the idea of "meaning-maker."  This phrase obviously did not fit well in and of itself as the ending.  So I thought about using the word message somehow.  Eventually, in keeping with the theme and having the right idea I found "you drove home your point."  (get it...point; pencil...point; sword)  But still it did not sit right.  And in looking up alternatives for message, I came across the word heart.  And if you check out the "About LFA" you will understand why this line hit home.  I did toy with the idea of putting the two lines togehter at the end, "you drive home your point / and pierce the heart," but for some reason I felt it didn't have the same impact...but that's just me.

18 comments:

Brian Miller said...

i think that your end is wonderful...yes, we do tend to pierce the heart....to defend, to take the game back and point out what at times we seem to be the only ones seeing....i like the straight forward energy in this....

Claudia said...

we poets tend to see in a special way...maybe sometimes more what is hidden than what is really visible... and those words can surely pierce the heart...

Anonymous said...

Lovely... the refrains work really well and the ending is wonderful. You bring forth a powerful image of the poet. Great job.
-HA

Linda M said...

Exceedingly wondrous and important, this gift of communication. Well writ, my friend.

Kathy Reed said...

How deftly you write this! Nice ode to all of us here at dVerse. Thank you.

Mary said...

I really like


" to defend truth and honor
to see beauty in the ugliest
of places
to see light in the darkness
"

So often this is what poets often do!

Victoria said...

This really touched me--a perfect tribute to your fellow "word-wielders..." a perfect phrase.

Gabriella said...

i like the idea that the media we use do not matter but the words and the intention. Great poem, RMP!

Glenn Buttkus said...

With your refrains, the form kind seems classic, but your wonderful message is indeed timeless. I stick out my chest in response to your shining words; like the line /to see the wickedness in the wondrous of places/--that def my beat.

Myrna R. said...

Thanks for explaining the process of this poem, especially the last line. I went back to read 'about LFA and it all made perfect sense.
I believe too that poetry pierces the heart, it often skips the mind and goes directly to that placee of truth. I enjoyed your poem so much.

author.nara.malone said...

I loved how you ended. I think your choice was the more powerful. The poets pen as feather to an arrow. Perfect image.

Grace said...

Don't worry about the ending, I love it ~ I admire how brave the poets are in speaking up against the darkness and in the light ~

Thank you for your words ~

Unknown said...

I love this... yes - it doesn't matter where the words get written, we're putting art into existence...

Beachanny said...

Indeed, the act, the writing, the art - where or when as long as it's done and it's shared because it is incomplete until then, until we know, we share, the communication is not complete. When it is, it flowers and fulfills in the reader, takes wings, becomes a living thing, free of us, free to mean what it is! Well said. Thank you for reading, commenting and being there!

Vandana Sharma said...

A beautiful ode to every poet..........

Anonymous said...

I like the kenning: word-wielders. For me that creates an image of Arthur and the sword, and that scene in the final movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy where the princess goes off to battle and swings her might sword and chops off the head of the evil black death thing ... but I digress ... yes the words we wield cut to heart, which makes sense, if that is from whence they come.

Jeff said...

Wow. Just perfect. I agree that poetry is about seeing the darkness AND the light, and revealing both. Very well done!

Anonymous said...

The repetition near the end was very powerful indeed! I think your last line pierced the heart quite deftly indeed!