Koinophobia

I have no hopes, no dreams

  I feel as though I am ripping at the seams

  Day after day,

  I continue to fade away

  What is the meaning of life?

  Is it filled with nothing but strife?

  Why must I persist?

  Will I even be missed?

  I can't fight it any longer

  I am growing weaker, not stronger

  I had dreams, once upon a time

  But they are gone, lost in another rhyme

  I have lost myself, all is the same

  Do I even have a name?

  My only salvation lies with the blade

  Now, truly, it is time for me to fade.

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  Divide

  What is a soulmate? A person of destiny? A mate of the soul? A lie told to those who believe in such things? A want to believe that lie. I want to believe in love at first sight. That I can walk into a shop and meet my destined partner. But I have waited long. So very long. Is he even real? Have I missed him? Did he pass me in the street, a stranger in the night? No, I believe. He could be just around the corner. He could be here right now. So I will trust in fate. I will walk forward, and who knows? Maybe he will do the same. Maybe he will call out to me, and say:

  Oh won’t you please dance with me, madam ,yad siht em htiw ecnad uoy t’noW

  :yas dna wob lliw I .reh ees ot detaf ma I fi dnA .drawrof klaw lliw I oS .raen si ehs taht eveileb I .htiaf evah I .lufecrof reveN .etilop syawlA .neeuq ym eb dluow ehS .lla ym reffo dluow I ,reh roF .yrruh ton dluow I .hsur ton dluow I .deen I lla si ecnalg ecnahc A .rehtegot erots eht retne dluow eW .enola em dna em rof ,evol tsrif A .stsixe ehs that eveileb ot tnaw I .laer htym taht ekam ot tnaw I ?eveileb ohw esoht ot htym A ?flah retteb yM ?efil rof revol A ?etamluos a si tahW

  Technical Aspect: The two poems meet in the middle with a palindrome, each telling half of the story.

  Explanation: Divide was an interesting poem to write, mainly due to the difficulty I had in coming up with a joining line which would link the two poems. I had two choices for the centre word: either it was going to be a palindrome (a word which reads the same when read both forwards and backwards) or an emordnilap (a word which becomes an entirely different word when read backwards). Ultimately I settled on using a palindrome due to my desire to have both the man and woman experience a shared view (i.e. they both viewed their meeting in the same light, as opposed to having two different viewpoints).

  Due to palindromes having a very limited word-pool, I went through several different sentences and palindromes until I found one that was acceptable. Additionally, I also considered having the entire joining line be a palindrome but this became prohibitively time consuming and difficult to implement.

  Below I have included the man’s viewpoint for those of who would don’t like reversing words.

 

  What is a soulmate? A lover for life? My better half? A myth to those who believe? I want to make that myth real. I want to believe that she exists. A first love, for me and me alone. We would enter the store together. A chance glance is all I need. I would not rush. I would not hurry. For her, I would offer my all. She would be my queen. Always polite. Never forceful. I have faith. I believe that she is near. So I will walk forward. And if I am fated to see her. I will bow and say:

  Won’t you dance with me this day, madam

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  Twenty

  I am not a kid, nor an adult

  My mom thinks I’m in a cult

  Now, how can I make her see?

  I am trying to find out “me”

  Adolescence has no cure

  Responsibilities, sure!

  So why grow up at all I say!

  Money? Hah! Maybe if I pray?

  Respect? Nope, can’t get it!

  My looks? Still nine zits!

  Education coming my way

  Also a heap of debt to pay!

  The girls like ‘em bolder

  Huh? Maybe when I’m older

  I’m already over this age

  So can’t I skip this stage?

  Nothing ok at all I think!

  Hope it will go if I blink!

  So for issues, I’ve plenty!

  And I just turned twenty!

  Technical Aspect: The poem is exactly twenty lines long and each line has exactly twenty letters.

  Explanation: Another letter counting poem, how fun! As a twenty-four year old (at the time of writing this) I found it easy to come up with the gripes of the poem’s titular twenty year old. You are too old to be considered a child, but too young to be taken seriously like an adult. Your entire life stretches ahead and more often than not you have no idea what you plan to do with it. Truly, turning twenty is crossing the boundary line between having fun and having responsibilities. And while you will not reap the benefits of those responsibilities for a few more years, you can be sure that you will reap the punishments should you fail in any way.

  But do not despair. Enjoy your twenties, life only gets more complicated from here on out.

  084 114 121 032 115 111 109 101 116 104 105 110 103 032 110 101 119 063

  After the Rain Falls

  Red skies before, the shepherds warn

  Orange dawn, a portent of the storm 

  Yellow thunder strikes, burning the earth

  Green grass burnt black, here there is no mirth

  Blue skies again, a sign of new life

  Indigo clouds in the horizon, a remnant of strife

  Violets blooming, heralding the new day

  A rainbow in the sky, here to light the way

  Technical Aspect: The colours of the rainbow (in order) or used as the first words for each line.

  Explanation: After the Rain Falls was originally titled “Seven” and was meant to be written in a similar manner to Five. Each line would start with ROYGBIV in that order, or, alternatively, would contain one of the colours of the rainbow in various forms (e.g. green, emerald, turquoise). Ultimately I decided to go with a simpler and more straight-forward poem, which led me to write After the Rain Falls.

  From a subjective viewpoint, this poem is about a storm that arrives, causes immense destruction, and then leaves, allowing nature to slowly rebuild what was lost. I particularly enjoyed writing this Technical Poem as I believe that it effectively tells a story of despair and hope in just a few short lines. After the Rain Falls lends credence to the fact that poems do not have to be sprawling epics with complicated lexicons full of unpronounceable words in order to make a thought-provoking or insightful observation.

  Sometimes, simple is best.

  As for the message itself; it comes from experience. Just as we encounter numerous storms during our travels, so too do we experience new beginnings. Bad times come, of this there is no doubt, but if you are able to weather the storm you will see blue skies again.

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  nspkn

  Why dd t hv t b y? 

   mn, w grw p tgthr, ddn't w?

  Y hv bn my bst frnd fr s lng s cn rmmbr,

  Tw prncsss, wtng fr r prncs,

  Bt tht ddn't hppn, dd t?

  vry yr, y bcm mr btfl

  Lng lgs

  Sprklng ys

  Sft lps

  N! t's jst phs! 

  dn't wnt ths! 

  Why cn't w jst g bck t hw w wr?

  jst wnt t b frnds wth y, nthng mr!

  dn't wnt t hld y

  crtnly dn't wnt t kss y

  Wll, myb jst nc

  N!

  mn, t's wrd!

  W'r bth grls, y knw?

  Dsn't th chrch sy t's wrng?

  Wn't r frnds thnk t's wrng?

  r prnts wll dfntvly blv t's wrng...

  Rght?

  Bt...

  Wht f 'm wrng?

  Wht i
f y'r rght?

  Cld ths wrk?

  Cld w wrk?

  Myb lwys knw

  Tht th prnc ws lkng fr

  Ws y.

  Technical Aspect: There are no vowels in the entire poem.

  Explanation: nspkn started out with an entirely different Technical Aspect. Originally titled “Unspoken”, its gimmick was that several words were missing (replaced by …) which was meant to obfuscate the subject of the poem. However, I found that this version lacking for several reasons and decided to change the Technical Aspect. In the final version, the subject matter is much more accessible and ultimately I am happy with my decision.

  With regards to the subject matter, I felt the choice of Technical Aspect was rather appropriate. Just as the woman struggles to voice her feelings and come to terms with her true intentions, so to do we struggle to read the poem. Despite her attempts at self-denial, in the end the truth shines through, and I would like to think of this as one of the happier poems I have written.

  Below I have added the full version for your reading pleasure:

 

  Why did it have to be you? 

  I mean, we grew up together, didn't we?

  You have been my best friend for as long as I can remember,

  Two princesses, waiting for our princes,

  But that didn't happen, did it?

  Every year, you became more beautiful

  Long legs

  Sparkling eyes

  Soft lips

  No! It's just a phase! 

  I don't want this! 

  Why can't we just go back to how we were?

  I just want to be friends with you, nothing more!

  I don't want to hold you

  I certainly don't want to kiss you

  Well, maybe just once

  No!

  I mean, it's weird!

  We're both girls, you know

  Doesn't the church say it's wrong

  Won't our friends think it's wrong

  Our parents will definitively believe it's wrong

  Right?

  But

  What if I'm wrong?

  What if you're right?

  Could this work?

  Could we work?

  Maybe I always knew

  That the prince I was looking for

  Was you.

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  Entwined

  IiMhEaTvHeIaMlOwNaAyQsUbIeEeTnNaIlGoHnTe

  HbEuStToOnOtDhTaHtEfRaEtLeOdOnKiIgNhGt,QiUmIeTtEmAyScIlGoHnTe

  HsEhTeOwLaDsMaEgToHdAdTeIsWsAlSiBkEeAnUoToItFhUeLr

  SmOyImAoSuKtEhDfHiIlMlIeFdHwEiCtOhUbLlDiStThAeYr

  WiEsDoAoNnCaEsDkTeHdEhNeIrGtHoTdAaWnAcYe

  AiNhDeIlAdShKeErDbHoIdMyIaFsHiEfCiOnUaLtDrSaTnAcYe

  BiUkTnHeEwTiOtLtDhMeEnTtHhAaTtWtEhHiAsDwTaOsPtArRuTe

  AsNoDiTkHiEsNsIeKdNhEeWrToHnAcTeTaHnIdStWhAeSnJbUaSdTeThHeErSaTdAiReTu

  OkFnAoLwOiVnEgBtOhTaHtPaOgWaEiRnFiUwLoAuNlDdKmIeNeDt

  FsOhReHfEoWrHwOhIoSmFmOyRhEeVaErRtOdNoMeYsMbIeNaDt

  Technical Aspect: There are two poems entwined together. The first is read from the first letter and then every other letter (marked by capital letters). The second does the same but starts from the second letter (marked by lower case letters).

  Explanation: Anyone who has ever been in love will be able to understand the feeling of meeting your soulmate. When things are right, it feels as though everything you do is in sync. Your thoughts, your feelings, your desires, all come together as one. Two bodies, one heart.

  Entwined attempts to capture this feeling of synchronicity by having the lovers thoughts figuratively and literally merge. Additionally, it allows one to explore both sides of a romance, and to highlight the subtle differences in perspective that are inherent in any relationship. When relationships work well, these differences become insignificant, and the common threads take centre stage.

  I have included the unravelled poems below:

  Woman:

  I met him on a quiet night

  He stood there looking quite a sight

  He told me that I was beautiful

  And asked me if he was suitable

  We danced the night away

  So I asked him if he could stay

  But he told me that we had to part

  And then I knew that this was just the start 

  Of a love both powerful and kind

  For he who is forever on my mind

  Man:

  I have always been alone

  But on that fated night, I met my clone

  She was a goddess like no other

  My mouth filled with blither

  I soon asked her to dance

  I held her body as if in a trance

  I knew it then that this was true

  So I kissed her once and then bade her adieu

  Knowing that again I would meet

  She for whom my heart does beat

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