BECOMING ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE

07 12 14

Vampires?
Parlour tricks with teeth
to those people
Becoming one of them
involves mortality
expiry dates shrunk
to a program
like Egyptian pharaoh bones
reduced to jewelery
by grave robbers
A talent must be borne
in electrolytes
a modern-day virgin birth
coded with odds
To become
one of those people
a human must manipulate
math-friendly formulas
and go alchemy on those
numbers with the malleable
gold of charisma
To become
one of those people
poetry must watch
helplessly from refrigerator
doors as metaphors are
equalized however
they may sound like similies

Author's Note

Total stream-of-conscious, written in a few minutes, which I very rarely do...I wasn't sure I was gonna post this but a trusted friend gave it a thumbs-up so here it is :) I still may cut the first three lines though...

Loosely inspired by The Animals In That Country by Margaret Atwood:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177289

Reviews

[AprilRN1210]

I don't know why people always think they have to be like everyone else.. why people change who they are, what they think, or how they act in comparison to what everyone else with think of them.. who is "them" or "they" and who do "those people" think they are, who do they think they are fooling?... took me on some weird twists and turns this morning.. but I liked it... it sure is crazy what some people will do for acceptance and attention... nice job for sure.. love a little word play and mind games.. :)

[kublakhan27]

You've nailed it with the most perfect precision April...you may have noticed by now that I am borderline obsessed with this phenomenon, at least I tell myself it's borderline...I can say this though: I no longer worry myself with that need, but there is one exception, and even though I really shouldn't worry myself with that exception either, I just can't let it go for the life of me...I'm glad you liked this one, for all it's odd intricacies haha Thanks as always my friend :)

[AprilRN1210]

I'm as quirky as they come my friend and I love the "odd intricacies"... when you can stimulate my mind, take me on a dark twisted journey or make me feel--then you've "got me"... and well... you "got me" with this one.. I can see how one can become "borderline" obsessed with this.. I find it quite amusing (bordering pathetic) the lengths that others will go to--to get noticed, liked, accepted, or stand out.. when will "they" realize you don't have to prove anything to anyone.. the beauty is in our uniqueness.. blah.. let em keep entertaining... :)

you're welcome.. it was my pleasure..

[kublakhan27]

Haha And I will be the first to admit that I have harboured those pathetic feelings...I am hands-down guilty of not appreciating the things I have while bemoaning the ones I don't...a lot of it has to do with my minimal self-esteem, which would be nothing if not for you and the rest of my small group of friends constantly propping me up...another factor is my most forgettable teenage years which I'll never live down...those bitter grudges are here to stay...but those aside, I think I'm getting better :)

[AprilRN1210]

yes, those teenage years have a way of "beating us down", but age, wisdom, life experience, support of friends, and acquiring worse hardships help us evolve into what we become... I am honored to be amongst your "small group of friends"... :)

[kublakhan27]

:) ......

[m.s.early]

I wouldn't cut them (if you haven't already)...

It screams at me. The weaving of gold and science and supernatural is mind bending. I really enjoyed it.

Either your stream of conscious really lucked out on this one, or your thoughts were already aligned in a way that necessitated writing. Regardless, it comes across as a well thought out statement questioning the moral standards of science claiming to preserve history while exploiting the holy.

[kublakhan27]

Thank you for the kind words and observations x...I did decide to leave them in after all, and I do indeed believe that this is one that was just waiting to be written...after that, it's all in the eye of the beholder...even though I did have a personal concept in mind, I was hoping that I left enough room for interpretation...I do like your take on it very much...so glad you enjoyed it.

[redzone]

The only people I want to be is poet!! But its true, I hate hanging from the fridge and watching all those similies go by thinking they are something, when all they are is silly words... but Steve, you are a poet and you talk to animals... I would say thats definitely NOT one of those people...

oh and by the way.. Margaret Atwood is one hellava writer and poet!!!

~~redzone

[kublakhan27]

I actually met Atwood at a reading, and got my copy of The Blind Assassin signed...she's known primarily as a novelist but I always liked her poetry...she's a fellow Canadian which may be a factor in how I relate to her, but I would love her poetry and novels regardless :)

I only wish to be known as a poet as well my friend...your observations are spot-on, and for me personally, this is yet another moment of consideration regarding the greenery of the grass on both sides, a subject I've gravitated to with increasing regularity for reasons primarily related to this site. So glad you enjoyed it red :)

[Pryde Foltz]

Herc … herc … yes, becoming a god is hard-work indeed. Really great write, Steve.

[kublakhan27]

Haha Yes, Newton's infinite wisdom is to be savoured by the ages...thanks so much Pryde.

[Lydia Shutter]

If we change simply to please the people around us, we often are disloyal to ourselves. The shortest distance between acceptance and being a pariah is a facade.....but do you want to be a facade or who you really are? If people can not accept the real you....on days you are happy and days you are sad....they are not people you need in your life. Metaphors, similes, well, they are all good in poetry, but in life, not so much. I enjoyed this one. Lydi**

[kublakhan27]

You're so right my friend...all of these things were swirling about in my head as I (literally) scribbled this one down...the only sticking point for me has always been the fact that my sad days far outweigh my happy days, which is why you see this theme so often from me...I'm starting to see the positives in things with more frequency than I used to though, slowly but surely...so glad you enjoyed it Lydi :)

[Lydia Shutter]

Perhaps someday the good days will outnumber the bad, my friend. Until then, your poetry about the bad days makes them worthwhile if you ask me!

[willweb]

Powered by electrical current, the lines of your poem, like bumper cars continue crash into me and it is always so much fun. What a great ride Kublakhan27. I really enjoyed this today.

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much will, I'm glad that I could take you on a fun ride with this one.

[Matching Socks]

I loved your poem!
But what drew me to this was that adorable picture that brought back old memories of Herc and Newt!
I like your style. :)

[kublakhan27]

Haha Glad you liked the avatar and the poem...there actually are connotative links with the avatar and the song,at least in my head :P Thank you Ance :)

[Matching Socks]

I haven't listened to the song yet. On the iPad, it doesn't auto play. But now that you mention it I will!

[kublakhan27]

There's a monologue before it since it's right from the movie, but the whole sequence is reflective of how I see certain things, and those things all came together here ;)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"poetry must watch from the refrigerator"

while the poet gets the metaphors equalized. i kind of see what you mean...i actually started reading this thinking in terms of immortality, the vampire thing etc.
but the rest of the poem makes me think of poets...how becoming one of them alienates us from others in some ways...
also, the idea of the bones reduced to jewelry...sort of like the others reducing us to our words, and what they can get from us...they take the human element, which so vehemently goes into our works, and strips it away from us...
we are words, poems, books of poems...something to be used, because they think of us as one of "those people"---

i took this places, didn't i?
well, your writing does that to me.

[kublakhan27]

You took it to perfect places, I don't know if I could have summed it up this way myself...thank you Jacob.

[Frieda P]

There ain't no Atwood here, it's all Daliesque and Benji!

Still laughing here...it's perfect!! Ha, didn't know where you were going with vampires...what a bloody mess, yep, just like that. ;) Want to know what your refrigerator magnets say?.........

Absurdly perfect choice for a video too...you're a hoot love! ;) xo

You should have written it in Antelope....just a thought.

[kublakhan27]

Haha Yes I could never write something this quick about someone else Mrs.R ;) She's one of my favourite poets though and I just happened to think of that poem tonight...the monologue and song match the poem quite well I think haha I feel like I should save those lines...if I ever get poetic magnets I'll write it out on my fridge...I don't know what Antelope is :P Thank you as always my dear friend for supporting me :) xo