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Critical Analysis #1
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Kirsty24
Junior Member
since 2000-03-24
Posts 40
Australia

0 posted 2000-05-24 01:10 AM


You!!

The wind runs its gentle, sensual hand through my hair,
It traces the outline of my face and my lips
Our bodies are draped together
Lying motionless
Our faces buried in each others hair
The only sound is our breathing
Wisps of hair are lifted and fall with our breaths
Outside the street lamps cast their faded light, but does not touch us
The paper you twist in your fingers are delicate like slender clouds
The magic is sleeping all around us
It flows through us
The outlines of things start to fade and blur
And the light scattered across the
Horizon burn in spiral pattern
The pain of yesterdays mistake is gone
And the laughter and hapiness
I thought was lost gathers in my throat
You make me see the beauty in everything
Your flesh against my flesh
Your skin is branded against my skin
My lips are seeking your soul
Fingertips endlessley, tenderly circle over my body
This is our true peace
This is out beauty


 

© Copyright 2000 Kirsty O'Hara - All Rights Reserved
jenni
Member
since 1999-09-11
Posts 478
Washington D.C.
1 posted 2000-05-24 02:09 PM


kirsty--

a very romantic, evocative piece!  i especially liked "the light[s] scattered across the / Horizon burn in spiral pattern", very nicely done there (although i do think you need to make "light" plural).  

a few thoughts and suggestions?  you could really make this piece sing by including some more interesting descriptions here.  instead of just saying "our faces buried in each other's hair," or "the only sound is our breathing," you might think about describing what those things feel or sound like; instead of simply saying "the laughter and hap[p]iness / I thought was lost gathers in my throat," you might try something more vivid, like "the songbird's throaty melody / I thought was lost sings in me again", something like that (ok, not very good, but you see what i'm getting at, no?).  

the piece is also a little wordy; you can make it tighter by eliminating some of the smaller words throughout, for example:

The wind runs its gentle, sensual hand through my hair,
Tracing the outline of my face and lips;
Our bodies draped together,
Lying motionless,
Faces buried in each others' hair

and so on.  

you also might want to think of fresh, powerful ways to say things like "the pain of yesterday's mistake" and "my lips are seeking your soul", these are a little overdone in poetry and don't really say much anyway, in my opinion.  

there are numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes, which really detract from the atmosphere you're trying to create here; a little proofreading before you post would be good.  

all in all, though, this was a really nice piece, tender, sweet and dreamy.  thanks for sharing it with us.

jenni

Brad
Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705
Jejudo, South Korea
2 posted 2000-05-24 08:01 PM


I actually liked that first "You!!!". It shouts at you and caught me off balance for a second -- that's a good thing.

Watch the typos. You can edit a poem here. Don't be afraid to use it.

As Jenni pointed out, you have some interesting things going on with the lights but you haven't quite shown us what is so unique about this situation -- what makes it special or different from what many of us experience or have experienced in our lives.
Give us more indiosyncratic detail, describe Paul -- not just your emotions. The use of soul doesn't work here (hint -- the use of soul never, never works for me   ) as it seems you're trying to put a 'deeper' meaning to something that, in my opinion, doesn't need it. Sensuality is a powerful emotion -- it doesn't need help.

Good lines:

Outside the street lamps cast their faded light, but does not touch us
The paper you twist in your fingers are delicate like slender clouds

The outlines of things start to fade and blur
And the light scattered across the
Horizon burn in spiral pattern

(Don't be afraid to write in more common English -- use that indefinite article, damn it   -- that's a joke by the way)

Some not so good lines:

You make me see the beauty in everything
Your flesh against my flesh
Your skin is branded against my skin

--too vague and insubstantial

This is our true peace
This is our beauty

--You want to create this feeling in us so as to make these words superfluous.

Just an opinion,
Brad

Kirsty24
Junior Member
since 2000-03-24
Posts 40
Australia
3 posted 2000-05-24 08:41 PM


Jenni   Thanks. Sometimes I am little worried about posting in here.. But basically you have seen it as it was intended to come across, romantic, evocative and dreamy..  

Brad  You know I never even checked for typo's....lol... Guess that I should do that..
And don't I feel privilaged being critisized by a moderator... j/k... (think I picked a sad and sarcastic day to be doing this..)

Thanks Brad and Jenni, Next time I write something I will be sure to use your ideas.

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