I, in my high school career, am lucky enough to be taking a Creative Writing course! One assignment or prompt that the teacher gave us started with this up on the board:
Manifesto on weakness:
"All pleasure lies in weakness, not power. Our survival as a species depends on weakness of a winsome kind. By our best weakness, we keep our allegiance to this strange dance of longing we call human life. Without this weakness, we are lost." --Kim R. Stafford--
Manifesto: a public declaration of intentions and principles.
Then the teacher told us to write our own declaration of weakness, in the form of a poem. Poetry is one of my strengths, so I went right to work on it. I though it turned out fairly well! Tell me what you think!
A Manifesto of Weakness
I have a weakness for music,
music that picks up my soul and helps it fly.
The music of raindrops pattering on glass panes,
green leaves, and the black tar road.
The music of a pencil softly sliding over paper.
The "fizz-fizz" that explodes from food hitting the hot frying pan.
The music made by the clatter of silverware on china plates,
in perfect harmony with melodic voices
coming from around an oval table.
The music that is the sweet rustle of leaves blown by the wind,
that mimics the masterful symphony of the sea.
The giant's banging their drums
when the conductor gives them their bright electric cue.
The melody of birds after the drums cease.
I have a weakness for music,
the music that invades my soul,
and dances with my heart.
So, what did you think? How bad is it really? Oh, come on, be truthful!
See you, or actually, hear from you later!
Lizzie~
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3 comments:
Hi Lizzie, Alyssa here. Thank you for your post on my blog about the shed hunting. Unfortunately, my husband does do the other kind of hunting too. But not as much as he used to. I'm hoping eventually he won't be killing anything at all. I had fun reading your last two posts - I work long hours so some times I'm too tired to go on my computer - so I'm combining my comments. I was also in the band in highschool like you. I played trombone - I was the first girl to ever do that within the whole district! It was alot of fun being in the band and playing at concerts. You must be very good at your instrument (what is it, by the way?) to be playing solo parts. I always shared first chair with a fellow, but he played the solos. Keep practicing and refining your tone and soon they'll be begging you to solo all the time. My younger sister was excellent at the flute and always had the solos - I was kind of jealous of that. I know you'll never regret being in the band and soloing -- I think it builds confidence and is fun too. I was touched by your lovely poem. It brings back memories of when I was a young girl and wrote poetry too. I like all the ways you find music in everyday goings-on. You have a real flair for the "noticing" that is so essential in writing and having a fulfilling life. Your poem is put together well and is very expressive and I love the ending line. I can identify completely with what you've written. Bravo! You should get a very good mark on it. As I get older, music has become more and more important to me. I come from a musical family so it has always been with me, but now, I'm branching out into new and different types of music. I feel there is endless music for me to discover because someone is always trying something new. Maybe someday you'll be making new and cutting edge music for the world to hear. Or writing something, and being on the New York Times best seller list. Keep at what you are doing Lizzie, and I have a feeling you'll go far. One thing - I don't agree with Kim R. Stafford that pleasure lies in weakness. I think pleasure lies in curiousity and learning--maybe I'm just not picking up on what the author was trying to say. Anyway, I think it should be called "A Manifesto of Love". Keep up the good work and have a fun weekend. Alyssa
... so listen to Camille ... :-)
Oh, Lizzie!
You never cease to amaze me...wow. You really ought to give yourself more credit--your poetry is amazing. You know how I feel about music...that describes me perfectly as well. You certainly do have a flair for capturing emotions EXACTLY. You have inspired me to go journal...in poetry form, of course. I'll show you what I come up with on Monday.
You go, girl!
Loves,
Ashley
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