[Tiger] The World through Spectral Eyes by Tiger

[Graeme]

The World through Spectral Eyes by Tiger

A poem about feeling like an outsider and disliking the evils of the world.

 

 

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

Edited September 10, 2008 by Graeme

[AFriendlyFace]

I really loved the structure of this poem! I

[Tiff]

I think this is the first poem I ever read and reviewd on GA. You know how poems scare me, right? It's not a huge secret. THat's my reasoning for never reading poems, but I decided to give yours a try. You're right that it's not one of those poems with a billion hidden meanings that would have me wracking my brain for days. Instead, it was well written and structed, so that the important meaning got across to the reader.

 

I loved how you utilized the ghost theme: living as a ghost. The other things you mentioned, like feeling invisible, yet how you're still aware and choose not to be ignorant or hateful like everyone else. So much emotion pours out of your words, and also evokes emotion in me. I think many of us, at some point or another, have "lived as a ghost" or felt invisible and alone among a room full of people. Some form of isolation, being left out, frustrated for something you can't control...

 

Anyway, not sure if I interpreted this poem correctly or got its full meaning, but I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed this. It has a great message, meaning, and flows wonderfully.

[CarlHoliday]

Gawd, you can't imagine how much I hate reviewing poems, but this one is a killer.

 

Yesterday, as I was driving south through Ohio and Kentucky, I was struck by the beauty of the countryside and thought of my sometime wish to live in a rural community where kids ride their bikes without worry of a drive-by shooting, strolls along tree shaded sidewalks encourages stops to discuss the weather, and a place where everyone knows everyones's business. A place where everyone goes to church on Sunday to hear how horrible the Liberals are ruining our country by letting the fags into our schools.

 

I realized, of course, I could never live in a place like that and be open about my being gay.

 

Rural America has a lot going for it beauty-wise, but the vast majority of the people see the world through their religious filters. You talk to them and everything's cool until you get around to the Big Question. Their ignorance spews forth and you can't do much more than shake your head and walk away.

 

I saw a lot of myself in this poem, too. Being a ghost to the numerous friends and family who still do not know my true image. I fear their retribution, but I also fear their loss, their going away from my being. The one closest to me, the one who has accepted my spectral image would be devastated the most, or at least that is her belief.

 

Who am I?

 

I am Carl Holiday and I am not Carl Holiday.

 

Great poem Tiger

 

You know they're good when they get you thinking.

[Tiger]

Thanks guys. Carl, it was the religious types in rural areas just as you thought. They are so closed-minded to gay people. It's best to stay in the closet to an extent when you live in such a place. I was also talking about the evil people in the world who hurt other people but seem to be able to do so without anyone doing anything about it. Yet, I choose not to sink to their levels. This is probably the rawest poem I have written. I am glad that everyone seems to understand what the poem means to me. Also, you've helped me gain a new perspective on my own poem. I like how it can mean so many things to so many people. That's when I know I've written the best poem I can.

[Graeme]

I'm not a great one for reviewing poems, but this one seemed to strike me differently to the other people who have commented.

 

The feeling I got from it was one of arrogance. The narrator is a ghost, but a ghost through choice. They can see what is happening, but, like a ghost, they aren't involved. It's not them. It's not their fault. They aren't doing anything to stop what they are seeing and that seems to be okay, because that's their choice. That's arrogance.

 

I vary not in my belief that most people are reprobate imbeciles

For they lack kindness and seek only personal gain

 

Is the narrator any better? What is the narrator seeking? As a ghost, what are they doing for others?

 

A very interesting poem, Tim I'm sure there's a lot that can be extracted out of it from different perspectives.

Edited September 17, 2008 by Graeme

[Tiger]

The ghost is actually me. It's not arrogance. Ghost is metaphorical. I live in a place where a part of me is not seen. While I interact with people, I do so with caution, knowing that a small town in The Bible Belt is not a place where I can be as open as I can be. It also has to do with the whole social structure of the US in general. There is a group of people who control most of what happens. They do what they want, and the people are often invisible to them as they're focused on gaining even more power, money, and influence.

[David McLeod]

Tiger,

 

Yours is only the second poem I've found on the GA site that spoke to me. The repetitive first line provided the structure I needed to fight through the angst...no, the pain...of which you wrote. How, indeed, can any of us be complete, whole, and untouched by the hypocricy and hate born of ignorance and superstition that surround us?

 

To subvert G. K. Chesterton: Bigotry is the anger of ignorent men.

 

Be strong, and keep writing...it helps more than you can know.

 

David