That wave of silence
#3
Hi! This is my first crit here, I hope it is helpful. I'm open to feedback. 

My overall impression of the poem is that there is a group of people with diverse backgrounds brought together (my read is an office environment, or some sort of organization - crime?) by a despised and/or feared authority figure. Aside from the first four lines, the form does a good job of conveying emotion, which for me came across as tense and uncomfortable, sometimes fearful and angry. This tension came through even in the first two stanzas which are talking about a more relaxed atmosphere - maybe play with the line length if this is not your intention. 

(05-14-2017, 05:50 PM)67eager Wrote:  THAT WAVE OF SILENCE

So we hid ourselves in a bush. These first four lines seem very different in terms of both content and tone, and I can't make sense of them. My best guess is that bush is innuendo, and these lines are foreshadowing the last stanza's "act" as sexual harassment? I recommend revising here to make the differences in narrator or purpose clearer. 
There's no way I'll be driving.
Have you seen the size of that tush?
I was held in by Dr. Bloom. I'm missing the reference/implication here. Dr. Bloom in particular doesn't have meaning for me and doesn't seem to tie into anything else in the poem. Can you revise or expand to explain? 
Across the crescent shaped room,
Early exchanges are thriving. I like these lines. I wonder why the room is so oddly shaped, what they are talking about. Good hooks, and I agree could be great opening lines. 

With only the rays of dawn cast upon it, more provoked thoughts, why only rays of dawn? secrecy? familiarity? nice. 
Everything the room holds becomes more clear: nice use of punctuation. I might prefer "What the room holds" for flow, your choice
Empty space reveals buoyant specks of grime, 
The carpet awakens ancient fits of vomit, love this
And the shelves expose concealed cans of beer expose/concealed trips me up, i end up reading it twice with a furrowed brow. Maybe the shelves betray concealed cans? Expose suggests to me the cans of beer are still there, visible, maybe partially concealed. I might look for another word which denotes a past tense can, or hints of an actually concealed can, if that's your intention. 
Whose neglected leaks drenched lost items. leaks/drenched is another contradiction that i don't think adds much. Maybe leaks/mark?
The lives seem varied. Yet from hijab to bonnet I actually love the use of the vomit/bonnet rhyme. The unusual word choice makes the rhyme feel fresh and surprising, and I'm left wondering in what social setting are people wearing both hijabs and bonnets. Is this an Amish meet-and-greet with a mosque? It really drives home the message that this is a diverse and unusual gathering, and a little hyperbole doesn't hurt. 
They all look ahead and they all lack fear, this line and the next fall a little flat for me. Also, if they are all looking in the same direction, that connotes fear or surprise to me. 
Bearing only a fraction more time.
Minute by minute the room lightens. I like this line. 

But with a steady crank of the door handle,
The goose bump wind which its opening brought great
Causes all heads to fixate on one man, who looks enjambment works to show that this guy means business, looking back seriously at all the room's occupants
A day away from blowing sixty candles.
So to avoid their discrete ways from being caught, word choice on discrete --- do you mean discreet? 
All of them ride that wave of conscious silence.
In an attempt to retrieve noise, the man dandles. word choice on dandles. I admit I had to look it up. As far as I can tell there are two meanings - bounce like a baby on someone's knee, or fondle. I'm guessing from the context it's the latter, but it still doesn't seem to fit with his motivations or the room's reaction. Who did he fondle? Himself? Also fondles might (slant) fit the rhyme you're going for and be more straightforward (no looking up required) with some editing of the next line to fit. But why would this aggressive act retrieve the relaxed atmosphere of before he was in the room? If instead you intended the former definition as a way of saying "he was acting silly" then I think I really missed the point of this poem. Either way I would revise this line. 
Forced sniggers greet the act. That failed, he must have thought. 
At the sight of this act, the males repress right hooks. This rhyme seems a bit forced to me
So he parts, too aware of the threat of violence. I like the end rhyme here. 

Overall, good imagery and emotion. Some confusing bits that I think can be much improved with minor edits. Hope this is helpful!
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Messages In This Thread
That wave of silence - by 67eager - 05-14-2017, 05:50 PM
RE: That wave of silence - by Richard - 05-15-2017, 12:43 PM
RE: That wave of silence - by thegaslights - 05-21-2017, 12:06 AM
RE: That wave of silence - by CRNDLSM - 05-25-2017, 09:49 AM
RE: That wave of silence - by nibbed - 06-21-2017, 10:34 AM
RE: That wave of silence - by joecarey123 - 06-21-2017, 03:27 PM



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