Hi all,
First, read the poem. Then read the notes.
Separation
A Neon Genesis Evangelion poem
By Sparky
[Shinji narrates]
Separation
At times I feel my soul is split,
halves placed across a great divide:
a space through which they cannot join.
When danger comes I burn with rage
that tramples down its cousin fear,
but other times I care and love.
And I have always wanted love,
yet always my distaste has split
me from the father that I fear.
For since the time death did divide
me from my mother I've felt rage.
My father and I cannot join.
Yet still I wish that we could join,
so I could feel a father's love.
A son should not be trapped in rage
against his dad; for such a split--
when two who have one blood divide--
is one all families should fear.
But father only brings me fear,
and so we two can never join;
my horror makes a great divide
that overcoming would need love
he has not shown me since we split.
His reticence has forged my rage.
Not all my life is filled with rage--
nor is it always lived in fear.
I'm sometimes happy, though I'm split
between dictates to flee or join
with others. I wish I could love,
but none can heal my soul's divide.
It seems that duty will divide
me always. Due to my deep rage
I'll never have a chance to love.
I kill and maim my friends. In fear
they'll never take this risk; to join
with me and help me heal this split,
this great divide. I always fear
that my deep rage will never join
with my heart's love. I'm doomed to split.
A while back, after reading a sestina Utini posted to RAAC, I felt
inspired to write one of my own. The form is pretty difficult, and it
was not made any easier when I decided to write in meter. I posted a
rough draft a while back, and received no response. So I'm not
expecting to receive any from this either. But since I finished the
damn thing, I figured I ought to at least post it to the list.
A note on the form: a sestina is a poem formalized by the words that
end lines. You are allowed six words to end a line, and they must be
used in a specific order throughout the six stanzas and the ending
three-line envoy. It sounds very simple, but once you try you'll find
that writing a good, entertaining sestina is only slightly less
difficult than carving an exact replica of Michelangelo's "David" out
of Mount Everest with a toothpick. Frankly, I don't know if this one
is any good or not. But I thought I'd throw it out.
Oh, and props to Utini. His poem's good. Read it, and then applaud
him, for he wrote a poem in a format that's a friggin' huge pain in
the ass.
Sparky
*********
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."--Isaac Asimov
Access Sparky's fanfiction, links galore, and all kinds of heresy
at Heaven's Gate!
http://sage_ohlmin.tripod.com/evafic.htm
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