Year: 2020

here is the article that sparked my idea

source photo 1: https://www.thecut.com/2017/02/gun-violence-takes-a-brutal-psychological-toll-on-kids.html 

source photo 2: https://patch.com/new-york/farmingdale/king-suozzi-joining-planned-gun-violence-rally

 

 

The dice to my fate;

December 14th 2012

Terror flooded all I knew

Screams with no source

Wounds without reason

Feeling so much

But also so little

My mind was full 

But my heart was so brittle 

Only darkness was visible

The only thing holding back the screams

The helpless cries

The lost goodbyes

Were my own two hands 

Grasping my mouth

Holding back crumbs of what was left

The only hope being a prayer

It was all up to him

Like the rolling of a dice

4 was my number

“It better not land on 4”

To this day I still sit confused 

Of how our second amendment rights were so easily abused

So much power in a single finger

Contemplating a life as it lingers

Contemplating without thought

Action without contemplation 

The dice was rolled

Seconds passed as the dice settled 

Seconds that disguised themselves as years

A great abundance of anticipation flooded the room

The odds were up to him

The dice made its decision

And it chose 5

And unlike the 32 helps lives that were lost

I made it home to my family that night.

 

My poem audio:

My reflection audio:

My composition:

The poem that I connected to the most was Plastic Mask of Self-Unknown by Nick McDermott. This was the poem that I could relate the most to the novel Oryx and Crake. Many similar themes arose in this poem as in the novel. This poem is about the absence of individuality and humanities need to rescue and save what makes us who we are. The poem strongly connects individuality to the tangible, as does the novel. Individuality is seen as something that has substance, to be manipulated, designed, and sold. Where in reality individuality is strongly related to the intangible. Crakes whole motive was to design humans, counter acting what actually makes us humans, which are our flaws. when we take out these flaws we are left with a shell or “mask” of what once had meaning. This poem also illustrates humanities passive attitude toward societal issues with a satirical line “Smile, everything is fine”. Like in Oryx and Crake, all of society was passive to the obvious issues that were going on. Without Jimmy/Snowman as a character this refection on the loss of human connection because of things like scientific reductionism, the whole of society would have been left to believe everything is fine. We often try to mask what society thinks are flaws and imperfections, which results in false perceptions of what is natural and humane. Like in the novel Crake creates false and modified versions of humans that reflect nothing but an unhealthy outlook. Human connection lacks purpose and depth when boundaries are put up. In relation to the essay I wrote about the novel, this poem also relates strongest to that. Lack of imperfection creates barriers and therefore effecting human connection. Flaws are what bind and unite one another. Making perfection of the tangible a goal will not result in true happiness or solution.