Beyond The Cliched Sky Poem by Max Reif
Beyond The Cliched Sky
Closing the car door behind me,
I walked through an intense sunset
toward Radio Shack, a block away.
The sky's on fire! , I thought,
believing I might have found
the first line of a poem.
A moment later I realized
that a million people think
those exact words every night.
What can I think, I wondered,
that a million people
don't think every night?
'The sky burned to ash! '
'But it didn't! ' a part of me shouted.
That part of me is now bound
and gagged in the back of my car.
Here's the poem that was born:
The sky burned to ash,
leaving a jewel of lapis lazuli
that I wear today
in the setting
of my ring.
I have read everyone's comments on the matter of cliches and was rather amused actually. My feeling is that thought is provoked by experiences. While not all of humankind will experience the same things some will share experiences and therefore have similar thoughts. The more common the experience the more similar our thoughts on the subject. I suppose the difference then lies in the expression of those thoughts. The best way then is to express them as honestly as you can. If you try too hard to sound original and profound the effect is quite the opposite and you will end up being rather superficial and pompous. Avoiding the usual 'burning rage', 'passionate nights' and the inevitable visions of a perfectly formed woman that came to him in some sort of dream would certainly keep you safe from the dreaded case of the cliche... I have read your poem 'How'. I thought it was splendid. Once the discussion of cliches arose i re-read your poem with a fine-tooth comb (how's that for a cliche? ?) and still thought nothing ill of it... This poem I like as well, at the end of the day, when all is said and done, it get a clean bill of health from the life-threatening 'cliche'.... :) Zainab
You have a terrific sense of humor (thank heavens someone here does!) -. Richard Dawkins wrote a terrific book in which he talks about 'memes' - the smallest unit of culturally transmitted information, and if his hypothesis is correct, something can become a 'meme' - only because it has become 'cliched' first. Thanks for bringing some humor to that ridiculous discussion yesterday, Max...as only a true logophile could.
Angie Mae commented last night: lol... great little poem born Max! You were also an original before though. (oh, and Tony...I have no reason to butt-kiss, as Max doesn't read my poems anyway) Therefore... my interest is unconditional! Angie :)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/25/2024 2:27:34 PM # 1.0.0.1119
I'm wondering how you got both italic and bold faced type in your sky poem? Don't tell me though because all that technical stuff goes right by me. I enjoyed this ring gem of a poem.