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Room XI
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Room XI |
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gothicmoth Member
since 2000-06-05
Posts 89 |
Even the Lavender Rose Knows not of my fears. Being from the dream room, She cannot see my tears. If your astral ghosts Project an outward link, Would you see yourselves? It makes me laugh to think. You compare yourselves to others, But will not change a thing. Even if you found an answer To all your questioning. |
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lotharingia Senior Member
since 2000-06-04
Posts 897saarbruecken, Germany |
Right. I've read this a few times, and this is what I think it's about. The room XI, that's you (or whoever the poem is about; I'm going to say "you" for simplicity), or your life. Then, in the fist stanza, the Lavender Rose, is some ideal, but not even she can understand you, because she isn't real. Then, in the second two, you're saying that people are always criticising others, but don't look at themselves ("ship of fools syndrome" I call that; like the "fool" Anarchist Eulenspiegel, who always carried a mirror to tell the world that to see the fool, they should look at their reflection). So, is it a surprise that no one understands anyone else when they don't even try/want to understand/change themselves? Or is the first verse about someone moaning that they are misunderstood, and then in the others you point out that they should look at themselves first, before criticising the world for its misunderstanding? Am I totally out? And BTW, great poem, and good rhymes too!  And sorry about all the brackets.Lotharingia "For God's sake, he's a poet. Poets are meant to feel miserable. Otherwise, what the hell are they here for? What are they going to write about?" Tom Holland |
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jenni Member
since 1999-09-11
Posts 478Washington D.C. |
hi gothicmoth-- well, i'd say this was a great poem, if only i could understand it, lol.  it's actually very thought-provoking. i think i see what you're saying in the second and third stanzas, kinda, sorta, lol; i see them as saying if we saw a reflection of our true selves, would we even be able to recognize it when we so delude ourselves with inflated self-worth (which we know, really, is wrong)? but i am at a total loss as to what your first stanza has to do with anything in the second or third. perhaps you could make the connection a little more evident?quite an interesting piece, gothicmoth, thanks for a stimulating read. jenni |
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Kirk T Walker Member
since 2000-01-13
Posts 357Liberty, MO |
gothicmoth: I think you have some nice things going on in this poem. Here are my comments: Firstly I would like to respond to Jenni's comment that she didn't understand the poem. Someone once said and I'm not sure who right now, but someone famous, that the author is entitled to anything the reader can come up with. I will take a stab at the first stanza and maybe Jenni will see that it can have meaning for a reader if they set their mind to it whether that meaning is the meaning intended by the author or not. I felt that the Lavender Rose in the first stanza was a personified image and interpretted it to means something like: not even the saddest image has cried tears as sad as mine-or my tears are unique from others. The "dream room" is a reference to the fact that Lavender Rose is merely an idea (from the mind.) For the second stanza, it was a little fuzzier on the meaning. The poem might be stengthened if you moved to a more complex rhyme than "link" and "think" --the third stanza's "thing" and "questioning" was better and more original. The third stanza makes sense to me and helps shape the meaning of the first and second stanzas. The meaning of the third stanza being more clear helps in interpretting the second because we know it must somehow be a bridge to the first. I will agree with Jenni, however,that the first stanza doesn't seem to connect well to the rest of the poem. Unless it is that the speaker is sad because of the phenomena discussed in the 2nd and 3rd. I hope my comments were helpful, and as I was rushing a little (I'm going to be late if I'm not careful!) I hope they were coherent as well. Kirk T Walker |
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gothicmoth Member
since 2000-06-05
Posts 89 |
It made sense when I wrote it *grin*, but it is a 10 year old poem and I can see the fuzziness now. I am having difficulty figuring out how I can make it more clear. I wrote it about an English class I was in and Lavender Rose was the teacher. She was an excellent teacher and taught on a one-to-one level, but I still felt alienated and knew she didn't understand. The second and third stanzas are about my classmates and how I saw them. The first stanza was originally a bit different, but I changed it just before posting. "Even the Lavender Rose Knows not of my tears. Being from the dream room, She knows not of my fears." I'm not sure that helps or not. I think perhaps there is a stanza or two missing. Now I just have to find them *grin* Thank you all very much. |
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jenni Member
since 1999-09-11
Posts 478Washington D.C. |
hiya kirk-- long time no see! just to clarify something, i generally agree with you that a poem "can have meaning for a reader if they set their mind to it whether that meaning is the meaning intended by the author or not." my earlier comment about not understanding this poem, though, had to do with what i perceived as the "disconnect" between the first stanza and the second and third stanzas; they seemed like two different poems, that's all, lol. gothicmoth, sorry if i'm beating a dead horse here, lol. like i said before, i did enjoy the poem. jenni |
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Kirk T Walker Member
since 2000-01-13
Posts 357Liberty, MO |
gothicmoth: I was thinking, changing the title might help get the reader on the right track (even changing it from Room XI to Room 11 might make it more clear). Just a suggestion. jenni: no, no. Don't feel as if you are beating a dead horse. I understand what you mean. The question is whether or not a poem is effective if the reader does not get the intended message, right? Well I agree that this piece is a little fuzzy but I was merely sticking up for the potential of these images to be interpreted (not necessarily correctly--if there is such a thing as a correct interpretation). In fact, jenni, it seems that my interpretation to the stanza you couldn't "understand" was not very accurate--so actually (depending on how you define "understanding") I apparently couldn't understand it very well either. Anyways. Kirk T Walker Disclaimer: The preceding statement is just my opinion. |
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