The Bermuda Love Triangle (part II)
In the beginning
I could floss your toes
with barbed wire.
And fling the bloody flesh
chunks into my mouth
to mix and chew
my dry rice cakes.
I’ve never eaten more than one
rice cake. Don’t like them, really,
they’re just too dry.
But if you spin and your sundress
made of rice cake goes horizontal
like the rings of Saturn
I’d not mind eating to the center
without a drop of water.
July 26 2005, 01:07:08 UTC 6 years ago
This shows the promise of something almost Charles Simic-esque.
You need to work on the line breaks. End with you strongest words, possibly words with less syllables, but where there's a natural pause as well. The first line of the third stanza, for example, wants to end on cake.
With a bit of trimming of lazy lines, I think this is pretty good.
July 26 2005, 01:12:10 UTC 6 years ago
July 26 2005, 07:40:04 UTC 6 years ago
i really do like it
July 26 2005, 16:10:53 UTC 6 years ago
July 26 2005, 08:24:39 UTC 6 years ago
July 26 2005, 16:12:15 UTC 6 years ago
July 26 2005, 15:22:02 UTC 6 years ago
please keep working on this and show it to us again! je l'aime!
July 26 2005, 16:16:19 UTC 6 years ago
only kidding, it does seem random and it could use a little more. merci du commentaire!
July 29 2005, 03:53:44 UTC 6 years ago
I'd suggest not doing so much fragmenting. For example, your second strophe is really just the second half of your first sentence/strophe. And while you're combining fragments, lengthen lines, i.e. "In the beginning I could floss/ your toes with barbed wire." I might choose a different verb. I don't know, just think about those weird people who eat the plaque off their dental floss and figure out exactly what verb that is. Because the meat would be stick in the wire prongy things, wouldn't they? So it wouldn't just fling. I think you can cut some stuff -- minimize on the adjectives. Bloody can be assumed. In fact, perhaps you could just cut to "And chew the flesh chunks with rice cakes." Not exactly that, but you get my idea? Mix isn't necessary, mouth isn't necessary (it is, after all, the only place one can chew). I think this part will be stronger if it's more concise.
You already mention that the cakes are dry -- perhaps save that reference for this next strophe, and simply say that you don't like rice cakes, though some way more refined than that, hopefully. And of course that little bit mixes with the next strophe.
I think that since you're talking about toes you shouldn't skip straight to skirts (though maybe I'm being too logical). Mention something about working up the legs to where the sundress circles around like Saturn's rings. "Goes horizontal" seems a bit heavy -- I wonder if there's some way you can make "horizontal" into a verb and thus cut "goes"? I'd suggest cutting "I'd not mind eating" to "I'd eat". And spell check is telling me that sundress is actually two words.
Over all -- your line breaks are a bit weak. I'd suggest breaking the line where it seems to be a natural break, but it goes on to jar someone, as in how I suggested with the first bit, "floss/ your toes." However, you have a weird crazy start. I like it, though I like Charles Simic (as sirencio mentioned) so maybe that's part of it. ;) Good luck with polishing this one!
August 2 2005, 01:37:32 UTC 6 years ago