Poetic (Poems 1-5) by rome_o1825

Reviewed by _GinaLexis_

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Reviewer's Note: The following collection of poems by rome_o1825 are contemporary in every way. The words used, the themes, the lack of definite rhyme, rhythm, and structure in most of them are all characteristics of modern poetry. Hence, this review will focus more on the connotations of the words used and the deeper meaning behind them. Each poem will be analysed separately. Everything in this review is based on personal interpretations only. Readers are welcome to understand the poems in their own way. Poetry is profoundly personal and takes various shapes, to fit the moulds of the lives and experiences of different people. I request the readers to keep this in mind as they go on to find out my take on these poems.

HIDDEN

Her body's a wreck,

She tries to disguise.

It's hidden so well

Those veiled little lies.

The poem 'Hidden', expresses the agonizing feelings of a girl on a downward spiral. It focuses on both her internal state and her external appearance. It revolves around the themes of depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and the pain that seems to drive them.

"The angry lines" that weep in the first stanza imply the cuts on the wrist that bleed. Red, the colour of anger, shows what emotion causes the action of the girl. Her anger about the world, her past and herself. The word "carved" hints at a deliberate action. The self-harm isn't something the girl seems to have done on an impulse. She seems to have put a lot of thought into an action, which needs the courage of immediacy. This provides for a wonderful contrast.

"Memories" that attack her in her sleep could only mean the nightmares that she suffers from because of the events of the past. This girl is slowly deteriorating due to a traumatic experience.

She doesn't look carefully into the mirror like other girls. Her "hasty" look implies that she doesn't like what she sees there. It could be because "her body's a wreck" as described later in the poem.

Past is an element of everyone's lives that moves farther and farther as we continue to live. But, the past of the girl seems to keep coming "nearer". This shows that she is stuck in her pain and in fact moving closer to it every day. According to common reason, when something comes nearer to us, it looks bigger and bigger. To her the pain keeps increasing day by day, which makes it seem like her past is catching up to her.

The word "bare" used in the second quatrain is a play on the word "bear" but it also signifies something. Her eyes "bare" the painful stories that she cannot speak about. They are an open book. Anyone who glances at them would know how empty she feels inside. This is probably another reason for her "hasty" look in the mirror.

The final stanza shows her flawed life by using an imperfect rhyme. The end use of alliteration "little lies" not only make it sound beautiful but also acts as a contrast. Her little lies are anything but "little". They hold the power to completely break her.

FLU

ACHOO!

Bless You!

Sneeze. Blow nose.

Sniff. Repeat.

"Flu" is a tongue-in-cheek poem about a disease that troubles almost all people from all around the world. It is something everyone can relate to no matter where they are from or who they are.

The first stanza uses short words that are broken using periods. It works very well to show the way we function when a flu attacks us. Our days are filled with sneezing, sniffing, blowing our nose and repeating everything all over again. The second stanza talks about the remaining things that annoy us, a running nose, a sore throat, and a hoarse voice.

In the final stanza, the poet shows her frustration by using swear words to yell at the flu. The only rhyming pair in the poem "tissues" and "issues" complete it. There is also a funny comparison of how we are forced use a thousand tissues only in the course of a week or two just because of a common problem called flu.

RUN AWAY

What would it be like:

To be free?

To have no-one

Holding me back?

To have no-one

Pulling me down.

"Run Away" is an emotional poem that revolves around the speaker who wants to escape from the clutches of reality. The first two lines convey a depth of emotions: desire for freedom and flight, sadness that it might not be possible, hope for the future and the uncertainty that comes with the word, "someday".

In the second stanza, we get to dive deeper into the heart of the speaker. We find out who she wants to run from. The poetic device used, anaphora, by which there is a repeated use of the word "from" at the beginning of each line, gives it an urgent feel and also puts an emphasis on her desire to escape. She wants to run away from her "emotions", her so-called "family" and her "worries". Finally, it all culminates to the fact that, to be truly free, she needs to run away from everything that she herself is.

The speaker wonders what the world would be like if she had no negative influences that pull her down and hold her back. It throws light on her current situation, that she is surrounded by people that hold onto her and keep her in the ugly dark, which she wants to fly away from. She continues to wonder what life would be like if it weren't a "game". In a game once we lose, we repeat from the last saved point. It seems the speaker feels like she is stuck in an eternal loop of losing and repeating along with the insults and humiliation that accompany it.

In the same stanza, an enjambment (the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza) is used to break the sentence, "Love you, lie to you and stab/ you when your back is turned". This works effectively to increase the pace of the narration and also acts as a connect. Again, this line holds a mirror to her life and tells us, that she is surrounded by people who pretend to love her and then betray her.

The speaker highlights how verbal abuses are more painful than the physical ones as they stay with us for a long time, piercing us every time we think we are capable of moving past them.

Finally, the speaker repeats her wish to run away, somewhere far and ends it with the uncertain, yet hopeful word, "Someday".

BESTFRIEND

You're the one who drives me mad

You're the sister I've never had

The poem, "Best Friend" is a celebration of one of the most beautiful relationships one can share with another, friendship. In this poem, the poet sings praises about her friend. The poem is pretty straightforward with a simple rhyming scheme of aabb.

In the first quatrain, the strength, persistence and optimism of the friend are described using various situations. In the second, the poet highlights the loyalty of the friend, her courage to stand up for someone and as a marked contrast, her patience to put up with situations she doesn't agree with.

In the final stanza, the poet brings up the sarcastic nature of the friend. She uses a simile to compare her friend's heart to that of a delicate shell. The poem ends with the poet showing mock anger towards her friend, yet, admitting that she is one of the closest people in her life.

NIGHTMARES

Paranoia

Running. Falling. Screaming.

Dreaming?

The poem, "Nightmares" explores a life where sleep doesn't bring rest and dreams don't bring happiness. It's a free verse poem where the speaker describes what her nightmares are like and how they affect her life.

The constant use of continuous tense, "Running. Falling, Screaming" accompanied by periods that cut them short, signify the endlessness, constancy and virtual shock of the nightmares. The voice of the speaker that pushes out during the narration give a feeling of detachment. This voice could be the voice of reason in the life of the poet, which gets ignored due to the loudness of apprehension and anxiety.

The final words and the only rhyme-pair give us a glimpse into the life of the speaker outside of her nightmares. Though she may seem "whole", inside she is a "haunted soul" that prays for liberation from something so intangible yet horrifying.

Conclusion: The poems that we have looked at today have different themes and backgrounds, but they are all grounded in reality. I applaud the poet for bringing forth such raw emotions in the form of words. My personal favourites are "Hidden" and "Run Away". My advice to the poet would be to try to add a definite rhyme and rhythm to the future poems. These elements not only make poetry sound beautiful, but also add vibrancy. Of course, everyone has a different style and I did enjoy these a lot.

I ask the readers of this review to check out the original poems as I have only attached extracts here. After all, poetry may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they definitely add sweetness to life.