"There is No Such Thing......."

“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope......."― Mark Twain

Format me into a master

forger who steals the shapes

and colours, images and sounds

he sees and hears before him.

 

Translates them upon pages

of vitreous vellum,

scratched like wounds

into soft pink flesh.

 

Sells them from his con-mans

cart as if they were his own

fine etchings, his own skills

spilt in gentle watercolour

blood upon canvas.

 

Sees them as his own

for the taking,

plagiarising, faking, forging

the strokes, the signatures

and the voices,

bending them until he

has his own likeness.

 

15/09/20

Author's Note

Reviews

[barleygirl]

Generally there are 2 kinds of "profile" statements that the various writers display at the cafe to define themselves for others. One kind lists accomplishments & makes grandiose statements about whatever their writing is meant to be. The other kind mumbles something humble & slightly baffled about themselves & their writing journey/process. I prefer reading the postings from the latter. Your poem hits this point home . . . we can't hang a bunch of shingles proclaiming whatever we've accomplished becuz everything we do is built on the inspiration of others. I come here to the cafe to review & be inspired, otherwise, I have nothing to write about! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Indeed so Margie. As others have said though we shape and bend those influences and make them our own. Many thanks.

[Eilis]

Even though our art builds upon the art of others, I still feel like (when we are trying) we have something individual to say. The combination of influences we each have combines into its own magic potion of voice and expression. I love Mark Twain and the blunt way he had of sharing his ideas. Your poem is an interesting interpretation of his idea.

It is definitely hard to be completely original in the 21st century. So much has already been said and done! I did think of internet plagiarism, also, as I was reading your poem. I haven't been a victim of this (that I know of) but I know many have. I enjoyed your exploration here, John.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I do so agree with you but was simply making the point that we dip into the memories of what we see and hear and read. Indeed we then band them to our own shape. Thank you for such a considered review Eilis.

[Kari Rakitan]

This is so true! Try as we might, our stories are merely recombinations of our experiences, other stories we read, and things like that. This is why I decided to stop pretending that I'm not doing wish fulfillment in my fanfiction. Otherwise, why would I bother writing it in the first place?

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Agreed although we tend to try to put our own slant/signature on our writing which is why there is so much difference and much worth reading. Many thanks for reading and commenting Kari.