Beginning, Middle, End

[AuntShecky]

Beginning, Middle, End

Nothing digs deep nor reaches to aspire;
Nothing bakes nor bubbles near a fire;
Nothing germinates or thrives or grows;
Nothing’s dressed in silk or calico.

In empty places nothing’s wrought.
In vacant stores nothing’s bought.
In desolate skies nothing shines.
In absence of love nothing pines.

In years past and days present - nothing.
In eons gone by and eras to come -nothing.
In this very spot and over there – nothing.
In a universe devoid of stars - nothing,

nothing,
nothing.

[Ohmyscience]

Is it pertaining to something specific which puts the speaker in the poem in such despair or is it generalizing that everything amounts to nothing?

I liked the repetition of In this and In that and then really hammering in the nothing part. Its making me a little contemplative and not too enthused about life. Reminds me of Beckett's pessimism, 'Nothing to be done'

[Lokasenna]

Good stuff! The poem builds powerfully around the central word of 'nothing' in way that does not feel laboured or forced at all; rather, it flows majestically. Nihilism is always an attractive philosophy to write about, but one that it is hard to do so effectively; here, you carry it off with great aplomb!

[Sapphire]

This poem made me read "nothing" as "something" - a bit hard to explain. I agree with Lokasenna: it does not feel forced, and that is the beauty of it. To keep nothing in every sentence and make it read like it was no effort to get it there

[PrinceMyshkin]

"Nothing," but it takes courage to look it straight in the eye and maintain the control that you have throughout this... something.

[ampoule]

Is this your Sad Sack coming through? I wonder at some sort of riddle??

[~Sophia~]

Why do I suddenly feel like a speck of dust in a gaping black hole? I will assimilate, resistance is futile. Really well done!

[a_little_wisp]

Nooo, Sophia! Don't become a Borg!

The Nothing is everywhere! And suddenly, I'm reminded of The Neverending Story and the Nothing. AuntShecky, don't let your dreams go! Say her name, say her name! (And now, I sound half-crazy). Your Being, you, as a poet, by writing this brilliant poem, has once again affirmed your existence and makes something out of the incredible nothing-ness we live with.

You probably didn't mean to be existential, but I guess that's just where the poem took me. Sad poem- but good job, and thanks for making me think!

[AuntShecky]

Thanks to all of you for your kind remarks. I have to confess that far from some sweeping philosophical statement, the piece arose
from an experiment attempting to use anaphora, epistrophe and
whatever the term is for the middle one. On the other hand, it could all a bunch o' nothin'! Anyway, thanks again for reading this and for your comments.

[Virgil]

Beginning, Middle, End

Nothing digs deep nor reaches to aspire;
Nothing bakes nor bubbles near a fire;
Nothing germinates or thrives or grows;
Nothing’s dressed in silk or calico.

In empty places nothing’s wrought.
In vacant stores nothing’s bought.
In desolate skies nothing shines.
In absence of love nothing pines.

In years past and days present - nothing.
In eons gone by and eras to come -nothing.
In this very spot and over there – nothing.
In a universe devoid of stars - nothing,

nothing,
nothing.

I don't typically like poems that repeat a lot, but this one struck me. The lines are very strong and the alliterations and rhymes really pull this together. Very nice Aunty.

[Virgil]

Thanks to all of you for your kind remarks. I have to confess that far from some sweeping philosophical statement, the piece arose
from an experiment attempting to use anaphora, epistrophe and
whatever the term is for the middle one. On the other hand, it could all a bunch o' nothin'! Anyway, thanks again for reading this and for your comments.

Onomatopoeia is internal rhyme. I think your exercise proved very fruitful.

[AuntShecky]

[QUOTE=AuntShecky;709094
whatever the term is for the middle one.[/QUOTE]

antistrophe


thanks Virgil for your comments.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Onomatopoeia is internal rhyme. I think your exercise proved very fruitful.

No, it is the word for words that imitate the sound of what they refer to, e.g. "buzz" or the Hebrew "bak-book" for bottle, after the sound liquid makes when you drink it straight from a bottle.