Make Us This

come with me
into the belly

unknown
 
show me things
i could never see

alone

make from us

something, 

new

from that 

something,

    unique

softly hardened

   something,

purely fearless

make us from this

an ocean

of you and me

make us peerless

sans all regret

fear and misery

Author's Note

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

A liberating poem. For years I was almost scared of my own shadow and then something changed. When you start stepping into the unknown you grow. A regret of mine, that I didn't have that confidence when I was younger. I did well anyway, but I think I could have done better. This poem speaks to me.

Chris

[Davidgeo]

Growth always comes at a cost that I've found to be worth it almost every time. You probably know that better than I do.

It makes me happy to be able to speak to you in poetry.

[Chris Shaw]

That sorta makes me happy too :)

[DIVYA]

A very feel good poem for me. To do things on an impulse, go by the seat of my pants, usually appeals to me. Most of the times my hunch is right and I end up in a good place, so I relate. Nice video too.

[Davidgeo]

True self confidence to me means just simply being alive unashamed. Some people take the idea too far and it betrays an underlying insecurity, unfortunately the most expressive people are doing it for fake reasons (but it does lead to some beautiful results none the less). Impulse is part of it, but some people try too hard. It's okay to be simply rational and boring if that's who you are... to be honest, I think those types are the luckiest of all of us. It's gotta be stressful "standing out" all the time, even when it's not fake.

[DIVYA]

You’re right about that. It can get stressful. Even being ourselves.

[Davidgeo]

Deep down inside, I wish I was more boring and pleasant. I'm pretty sure the only reason my writing gets attention here is because of how caustic I am sometimes. My idol in poetry is T.S. Elliot, a really boring sweet guy who didn't write that much but when he did it was completely spectacular. Unfortunately, I'm almost the complete opposite; I'm an a*****e that lives off excitement and writes constantly but only sometimes decently. It's a strange thing, being attracted to your opposite.

[DIVYA]

Unfortunately, I find his poetry (and of most of the greats except Plath) too high flown and long for me to tackle. (English isn’t our first language) :)

[Davidgeo]

I can understand that. How do you feel about Arthur Rimbaud? (a good representation would be his poem "The Sleeper in the Valley"). He didn't last long, I think he stopped writing in his very early twenties, but he had a fire in him that most poets of his time simply did not.
http://www.mag4.net/Rimbaud/poesies/Sleeper.html

[DIVYA]

That was amazing. Written in by someone in their early twenties. wow. Thanks for the link.

[Davidgeo]

He's pretty lovely... But had a rather unfortunate life. Look up Paul Verlaine... they had a, very strange relationship to say the least.

[DIVYA]

Yes he is. Lovely. I was reading more of his poems.
That was an intense relationship! Sad how these guys were so brilliant and died so early.

[Davidgeo]

They tried hard while it lasted. Rimbaud was a weird one... how he just wrote such brilliance in such a short amount of time and then just said "f**k it... I'm done" is something I will never understand.

[DIVYA]

Too many fights and violence it seems. A very unstable affair. Creative people are restless, self-destructive. I think it goes with having more grey matter. Most of them lived and died badly. Mouth watering poetry though, David. Thanks for Rimbaud’s link!

[Davidgeo]

In terms of poetry and the like, I don't think collaborating "peacefully" is productive. I'm not saying we should all get over the top bizarre, argue incessantly and shoot guns at each other... but if all parties already agree on the outcome there really is no point. For example, the well meaning but idiotic "Christmas collaboration" emma joy and co. try and do here every year... it's contrite, pandering and the epitome of bad (cringey) writing when put together. There is no heart in it, there is no real passion... it's just a gimmick and it always reads like dog s**t. Collaboration should be passionate to the point of destroying your point of view and eating the others... it should end in something new, something you didn't think you could do before. Otherwise, it's basically just putting together a bunch of text messages in order like a stupid commercial.

[Davidgeo]

Verlaine and Rimbaud are perfect examples. (more Rimbaud than Verlaine... sorry Paul)

[DIVYA]

I’ve seen people behave differently in groups than outside them. It’s the herd mentality. Usually, a dominant participant calls the shots, others fall in line. I mostly end up fighting in group discussions. A big reason I don’t collaborate even with good friends. If Rimbaud and his man were clashing like that, the outcome had to be mindblowing :)