Would-be Writer
To pray or confront demons
But few ever stayed
Long enough
To know barrenness;
To sleep under hostile stars
And hear the wind
Silence jackals
And feel what it means
To be empty.
Now, you ask me
Why I write
And if I’m lonely…
You’re young
And believing
And can’t begin
To know
Where I’ve been.
But spend a night
With me
In my desert,
Hear the train whistle
Still the jackals—
Not the wind.
And listen
To the creaking
Of a midnight house
Haunted by echoes
Of what once was…
And then perhaps you can
Exorcise the demon
That led you here
That made you think
Writing was glamorous
Or romantic...
When a night
In the desert
Nearly
Turns you frantic.
the desert - a place where dreams wither and souls pant for water - such a lonely despair pining for someone who can't hear. A sad state @johnjgeddes.
that is so poetical - I couldn't have written it better. Beautiful :)
A lonely despair pining for someone who can't hear... yet not wanting to give up hope that relief is imminent... still not sure how or when or why.
Great poetry
You are an elegant fusion of poetic skills, pure passion for nature, art of choosing an words and above all a heart that can accommodate the whole mankind. Thanks poet for being contemporary to us.
thank you, @ogunlaja for such a generous and encouraging response. Much appreciated!
I agree.
Your blog is littered with gold and pearls.
"Hostile stars" - Wow. I am in awe of such creativity!
@johnjgeddes
well, thank you, @mimy - the art of reading is as important as the art of writing :)
Great poem. This is what I got out of it... we try things like isolation or going into the desert as you call it to do certain things. In particular reflecting, writing, getting rid of things, maybe baggage in life, that feels like it is dragging us down.
Or just to write and express and reflect. But the approach itself may in fact be flawed. The very reason for the problem in the first place is a formulaic approach to the issue. So merely going into the desert is not going to do the trick. It needs to dealt with organically, not formulaically.
That is why the person says, you need to spend time with me in my darkest hours... the place where I get my inspiration. But it is not inspiration in the sense you may think. Only in that haunted frantic uncomfortable environment then will you understand where my writing comes from. But that is the price to pay if you want to get the freedom you crave for and truly break free.
Yes, @pjcswart, you have to run the poem through your experience to make it mean for you - the poet's interpretation is just one of many once the poem is published. I relate most to your last paragraph because, I suppose, that comes closest to what I intended.
Yeah I know what you mean, but that's also maybe what is cool about art in its many forms. If it is done properly, maybe it has multiple meanings and paths of communication to the person reading or consuming it. There is the literal meaning in this poem about someone who is in a desert and who is lonely and haunted by fears (I am just simplifying here it is much deeper and multi-faceted than that) and perhaps the reader will only get that out of it and/or something else, like a deeper feeling or emotion or something.
The words or instrument or brush or pencil are just a medium that I use to express myself. I am not an electric bass player, I am an artist. I simply choose to express myself, and my creativity, through that particular instrument.
JD Salinger when he wrote The Catcher In The Rye was fighting in the 11 months days following D-Day, which were apparently one of, if not the most deadly and dangerous times of WW II. Here's a small excerpt from a Vanity Fair article:
"Tuesday, June 6, 1944, was the turning point of J. D. Salinger’s life. It is difficult to overstate the impact of D-day and the 11 months of combat that followed. The war, its horrors and lessons, would brand itself upon every aspect of Salinger’s personality and reverberate through his work."
Some critics I believe say he channeled his emotions - anxiety, depression, anger, in the main character Holden Caulfield. And that is why the book is so powerful and has attained a cult following - not only the book but also the author obviously.
I watched the film biography of Salinger and there are these people who tried to meet him because they thought he would somehow be able to relate to them and they had some kind of special bond with him. But in a certain sense the book is just about some confused some would say, mentally ill teenager who talks about a particular period of his life.
I didn't know that about Salinger, but it makes total sense. I liked your comparison of writing to the visual arts and how the use of symbols opens a whole universe of possible meanings. A good response!
Thanks for your upvote @johnjgeddes! Yah that is what makes art so cool. I read an excerpt from James Joyce's Ulysses this morning. I was really impressed. Some of it seems kind of banal but in an interesting artistic sort of way.
yes, there's a fine line between representing reality and getting immeshed in the common place. Hardy said great art is about exceptional people experiencing exceptional events ...Well, that's the ditch on the other side of the road :)
Why do you say that? Because then it gets too weird?
because it gets unrealistic if art is always about the exceptional. It has to hold up the mirror to nature - reflect reality. It's a big concept called verisimilitude
N1 @johnjgeddes! 👍😀
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Followed and upvoted!
thank you, @reko - yes, the desert of the soul...
Aha!
ha ha, thank you!
Nice relevant pic!! 😀 😃 😄 😁 😆
@johnjeddes -- This was masterfully written. I can relate. My favorite verses:
"But spend a night
With me
In my desert,
Hear the train whistle
Still the jackals"
Steemit is so poetry-friendly, it's incredible.
Cheers!
thanks, @csbegu - it's become even more accepting lately. A year ago it was hard to find an audience
And no one Volunteers to go to Jail?
Ah, you're thinking of Australia, awgbibb :)
Very Funny!
yes, some people missed the comparison to a young Shakespeare
This post has received a 23.05 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @johnjgeddes.
Wow, great stuff. The writing is easy to understand yet deep and relatable. Sometimes people form superficial impressions about certain paths without knowing the whole, dark truth. How difficult it can be sometimes. This poem captures the terrible feelings of loneliness, regret, and more experienced well.
thank you, @revitellect for your thoughtful response. Oftentimes the secret to good writing comes down to getting your own pain.
I agree, I think sometimes artists, also actors, can get frustrated because people just don't understand what they are trying to convey. Maybe that is what happened to Jim Carrey. And that is why now in interviews he says stuff like "I don't exist". And he grew a long beard which I think he know shaved for his new TV show.
Oh, yeah. Good point. Sometimes there can be a gap between what an artist wants to convey and what the audience understands, as you mentioned. Oh, I didn't know Jim Carrey was like that now. Sad. Thanks for sharing. :)
Yeah but sometimes that can be a good thing too... https://steemit.com/writing/@pjcswart/the-multiple-interpretations-of-the-catcher-in-the-rye
@johnjgeddes great poetry from you & thanks for sharing.
thanks, @irfanullah