Good evening! I was going to write about Obama's address to the USA in Congress today, or perhaps talk about the state of the political system here in Canada right now. Then I though "nah! That's a bit heavy for eleven at night is it not?" Thus, I'll release the first of my poems.
Sailing from Constantinople
This poem was written as a response to William Butler Yeats poem "Sailing to Byzantium" where he reflects sadly on how he is too old for the world and how the sooner he approaches his death the more he is forced to withdraw. The line in his poem "this is no country for old men," is quoted directly in my reply. Constantinople was the name given to Byzantium in honour of Emperor Constantine I (Roman Emperor). I ask Yeats if the world is really just out of reach of the old, because the way I see it us teenagers don't always have it our own way either. Doors are closed on us even if we are more capable than those shutting the door (e.g Laura Dekker).
A wise man once told me the world "is no country for old
Men." It fills me with
Fear, for he forgets youth.
The city of Byzanitum, ancient seaport on the Black Sea.
Soon the oncoming storm
Swept through, a wave of change.
No longer a land of barbarians, but a beacon
For humanity.
The jewel on Caesar's crown.
Higher rose the spires. The sun herself was filtered through the
Skies of silver gold.
The birthplace of your Lord.
Out of the vast fountains spouted the purest nectar of Mount
Olympus. Sprinkling
The land with nature's wealth.
It is Constantinople now, my craft that once carried
The rising star with
Loyalty, alas now is mastless.
Here I am, not a fountain but a sailor lost at sea.
Swept out by the tide.
The land hears not my cry.
Through willpower the Argo surges forward. The Hagia
Sophia glares down
On my progress away.
Feared as a virus, abandoned for a vagrant. I float
With companions and
Yet in isolation.
Notes: Syllable count is 14 on the first line of each stanza, then 5, then 6. Put them together and you get 1456, a rough date for the end of the Medieval time period and start of the Renaissance. I did this to trap the youth in the poem in a frame work but to also point out that era's are just dates and that really for the everyman, life doesn't change wherever or whenever you go.
Criticism, comments, all would be very welcome!
Thanks,
Rowan
Tuesday, January 25
Monday, January 24
Oceanic Poetry
At the start of the school year way back in September, me and my English class were given a "creative assignment". We could write a short story, a chapter of a novel, a poetry anthology, play, musical, TV show, anything! This excited me a great deal. Ever since I was little I've been writing, as in before I could actually write I would just draw line after line of scribbles down on pages, staple them together and tell everyone I had written a book! I would like to think my literary abilities have increased since that point, but who knows.
Anyway, so at first I got this idea I thought was great. I had imagined a story of two brothers in the near future who enlist in an intervention action in Andalusia, a Spanish province, to deal with mass rioting and revolution due to vast amounts of immigration compounding a massive drought. I had all these ideas of how it would deal with issues of race, equality, brotherhood etc...
It came to a halt.
My next idea was for a play about God creating worlds, dealing with similar issues with all these deep themes and underlying messages and motifs.
I ended up writing just one scene.
I had forgotten about it for the most part, until one day I rediscovered the story of Laura Dekker. See, about a year ago, I read on the BBC News website about a 14 year old Dutch girl who had vanished from the Netherlands. I finished the article and was about to go read another when I looked at the picture that went with the story. A plain picture really, just Laura looking at something behind the camera, yet for some reason, perhaps it was the intensity and determination that seemed trapped in her eyes, I decided to google "Laura Dekker". That was the beginning.
Soon I became completely lost in the story, following obscure sailing websites, scouring old youtube videos. This came to a peak after Laura had returned to the Netherlands from St Maarten, when I took an hour long Dutch lesson and then proceeded to write to the Utrecht Welfare Bureau defending Laura and pointing out how the Court was in no position to stop her from completing her world circumnavigation.
As I said, that was a year ago. The last I heard, the court had finally given her the go ahead, and the story fell out of thought and mind. That changed about three weeks ago when I heard that she had reached St Maarten once more having crossed the Atlantic. Without meaning too, I was back in the world.
I soon joined the Dutch social networking site "Hyves" to better follow the story, and it was that night when something inspired me to pick up my pen and write. The result: the first poem of my creative assignment, "Sailing from Constantinople". That night I finished another, then another, and one more. Now I've finished my assignment but continue to write. I decided to call the compilation "Journey", in honour of Laura's trip, which proved to be the source of my inspiration.
To me I feel that Laura's journey and struggle has struck such a resonant chord within me because of both feelings of jealousy and admiration. Laura epitomizes everything I want and dream to do: she is making an impact on the world, doing something that hasn't been done before and she is under a year younger than me. Laura is seeing the world, going out there and living it while I see it from the cover of a computer screen. She had the courage to run away and make that statement when no one would listen while I sit through the trouble and let things go on.
All in all: I have an infinite amount of respect for you Laura.
P.S I think I shall be posting some of my poetry if folks so wish.
For those of you that wish to follow Laura's travels:
http://www.lauradekker.nl/ for English go to the top right corner of the page and hit the Union Flag.
http://sailorlauradekker.blogspot.com
http://solozeilster.hyves.nl/forum/4684084/R7Ll/ABOUT_LAURA_DEKKER
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107777619273164&v=wall
Anyway, so at first I got this idea I thought was great. I had imagined a story of two brothers in the near future who enlist in an intervention action in Andalusia, a Spanish province, to deal with mass rioting and revolution due to vast amounts of immigration compounding a massive drought. I had all these ideas of how it would deal with issues of race, equality, brotherhood etc...
It came to a halt.
My next idea was for a play about God creating worlds, dealing with similar issues with all these deep themes and underlying messages and motifs.
I ended up writing just one scene.
I had forgotten about it for the most part, until one day I rediscovered the story of Laura Dekker. See, about a year ago, I read on the BBC News website about a 14 year old Dutch girl who had vanished from the Netherlands. I finished the article and was about to go read another when I looked at the picture that went with the story. A plain picture really, just Laura looking at something behind the camera, yet for some reason, perhaps it was the intensity and determination that seemed trapped in her eyes, I decided to google "Laura Dekker". That was the beginning.
Soon I became completely lost in the story, following obscure sailing websites, scouring old youtube videos. This came to a peak after Laura had returned to the Netherlands from St Maarten, when I took an hour long Dutch lesson and then proceeded to write to the Utrecht Welfare Bureau defending Laura and pointing out how the Court was in no position to stop her from completing her world circumnavigation.
As I said, that was a year ago. The last I heard, the court had finally given her the go ahead, and the story fell out of thought and mind. That changed about three weeks ago when I heard that she had reached St Maarten once more having crossed the Atlantic. Without meaning too, I was back in the world.
I soon joined the Dutch social networking site "Hyves" to better follow the story, and it was that night when something inspired me to pick up my pen and write. The result: the first poem of my creative assignment, "Sailing from Constantinople". That night I finished another, then another, and one more. Now I've finished my assignment but continue to write. I decided to call the compilation "Journey", in honour of Laura's trip, which proved to be the source of my inspiration.
To me I feel that Laura's journey and struggle has struck such a resonant chord within me because of both feelings of jealousy and admiration. Laura epitomizes everything I want and dream to do: she is making an impact on the world, doing something that hasn't been done before and she is under a year younger than me. Laura is seeing the world, going out there and living it while I see it from the cover of a computer screen. She had the courage to run away and make that statement when no one would listen while I sit through the trouble and let things go on.
All in all: I have an infinite amount of respect for you Laura.
P.S I think I shall be posting some of my poetry if folks so wish.
For those of you that wish to follow Laura's travels:
http://www.lauradekker.nl/ for English go to the top right corner of the page and hit the Union Flag.
http://sailorlauradekker.blogspot.com
http://solozeilster.hyves.nl/forum/4684084/R7Ll/ABOUT_LAURA_DEKKER
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107777619273164&v=wall
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