i was browsing poetry today. of it all, the line that made a home in my memory is not from a poem but is a comment:
this is a terrible poem and i just think that you should have put more thought into it and made it not so horrible
i make a habit of not reading too many online comments, and it's a strict rule when it comes to forums of any kind. under cloaks of computerized anonymity, humans reveal they are angry, wretched, and live to insult others. this is my only take-away ever, and it zaps all my love for the human race. if you think i'm being overly dramatic, pick any youtube video and read the comments. within a page there are online equivalents of the nasty 3rd grade bully with minimally masked low self-esteem. it's thoroughly depressing.
the comment above was the sole one for a certain experimental poem. it contains about as many words as the original poem. and there is something so simple and earnest about it (to me) that makes it not so mean. perhaps it's because i agreed with the commenter, or perhaps it's my current mood, but i found it delightful. there is also something magical about 'not make it so horrible', as if it's that easy all the time.
incidentally the word 'just' strikes me. we all say this so much, without thinking. i was just going to say.... or starting sentences with no, it's just... oh, nothing, i just... i'm going to go ahead and just...
so many diminutives, so many unnecessary past tenses and verbal ways to distance and defend. no, i mean, it's just a thought, but i was going to say, that maybe it would be interesting to see how much i would change if i eliminated 'just' and spoke simply in the present tense.
just for a day.
this is a terrible poem and i just think that you should have put more thought into it and made it not so horrible
i make a habit of not reading too many online comments, and it's a strict rule when it comes to forums of any kind. under cloaks of computerized anonymity, humans reveal they are angry, wretched, and live to insult others. this is my only take-away ever, and it zaps all my love for the human race. if you think i'm being overly dramatic, pick any youtube video and read the comments. within a page there are online equivalents of the nasty 3rd grade bully with minimally masked low self-esteem. it's thoroughly depressing.
the comment above was the sole one for a certain experimental poem. it contains about as many words as the original poem. and there is something so simple and earnest about it (to me) that makes it not so mean. perhaps it's because i agreed with the commenter, or perhaps it's my current mood, but i found it delightful. there is also something magical about 'not make it so horrible', as if it's that easy all the time.
incidentally the word 'just' strikes me. we all say this so much, without thinking. i was just going to say.... or starting sentences with no, it's just... oh, nothing, i just... i'm going to go ahead and just...
so many diminutives, so many unnecessary past tenses and verbal ways to distance and defend. no, i mean, it's just a thought, but i was going to say, that maybe it would be interesting to see how much i would change if i eliminated 'just' and spoke simply in the present tense.
just for a day.
No comments:
Post a Comment