They Cannot Hear Sounds of Silence
My dodoitsu and American cinquain responses to Diana C.’s prompt: “How can you learn to better communicate your needs instead of expecting others to interpret & respond to your mood?”
Dodoitsu
Can others hear you not speak? Don’t come off as entitled Stay on your side of the street Wise know difference
Discussion
While some poets refuse to explain themselves, and while I do appreciate the scholastic debate that ambiguity can beget, my readers most likely do not inhabit classrooms or poetry reading groups. Frankly, I am a poet who does not enjoy reading other poets' works that leave me saying, “huh?”
I appreciate ambiguity in poetry, but I do not appreciate not having any fucking idea what I just read. I do not write poetry to arrogantly impress other poets. I write to confidently speak to and possibly help any reader (poem on the difference between arrogance and confidence here). Thus, I generally include decoder rings for my micro poems.
As one very talented and deep essay writer, Esther George, responded to me:
For me, tanka is deep. Sometimes it wrecks my brain trying to unscramble. When authors revise the SEO description or include a writer’s note that can double as the decoder ring, that can make their piece more meaningful for the readers. Tankas require close reading to uncover layers of meaning leading to deep comprehension. I hope more poets will consider that. Thank you for bringing this up.
Ok, so my dodoitsu focuses on the “better communication” portion of the delicious deity Diana C.’s jump in at any time 4th of 50 prompts for self-reflection. When communicating one’s feelings and positions, one should strive not to complain about or attack the recipient. Keeping things to one’s own side of the street is an axiom that I learned through participation at various times in my life in 12-Step program work (Holly Kellums). I will be heard better if I give the other person no reason to get defensive. The last line of the dodoitsu evokes the Serenity Prayer, asking for the wisdom to know that one cannot change another person, but has total control over one’s own attitudes and reactions.
American Cinquain
Skin burns Anxious searing Release secrets’ pressure Communicate intimately Love warms
Decoder Ring
I remember laying in bed many years ago, for days at a time, with the anxiety over my thoughts that I had not shared making my skin feel as if I were on fire. Keri Mangis how did I not get hives? Well, my soul gave me truncal dystonia instead.
(Talk about a bazaar of the bizarre!!)
As much spiritual wisdom as I found in the Steps, I generally hated the sayings. But a couple, in addition to the one I noted above, I say often. “I’m fine” is often bull shit and “fine” stands for “Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional.” Let someone in. Tell them what is truly going on with you because “we are only as sick as our secrets,” meaning that a secret kept in the dark grows and becomes more harmful, but once it is exposed to light or released, its power is lost.
The courage to be vulnerable, to communicate intimately, to let someone into-me-see, defeats fear and may lead to the soothing warmth of unconditional love.
Making love for souls is sharing with each other the emotion that they feel for each other. It is the ultimate Platonic Love. What does that feel like for me? It’s a warmth all over me. It’s not my usual I-run-so-warm that I need the air-conditioner blasting at all times. It’s not the warmth of temperature. It’s the heat of the most beautiful emotion. It is limitless in intensity, duration and frequency.
Two tanka:
Unconditional Love — Eros and Agape I gave and you learned You gave me the greatest gift Love from a beautiful soul
Now, love between souls a contract made in heaven unconditional Vows made there are not broken Heavenmates are eternal
Tagging others who might want to try these syllabic poetry forms from MDSHall’s prompts (dodoitsu and American cinquain): Claire Kelly Stuart Englander Tree Langdon Josh Balerite Acol Anthi Psomiadou Joseph Lieungh Jean Carfantan Agnes Laurens Melanie J. Rita Duponty Jupiter Grant Noelle Carolyn F. Chryst, Ph.D. Spyder Frank Ontario
My previous three convergences of Diana’s self-reflection prompts with MDSHall’s format prompts (I am trying a distribution strategy of spreading among pubs):
In Rama I create with Lindsey winding my sails,
PS: For readers new to me who want to know about Lindsey:
