The Land of Grimney - The Illustrated Adventures of Cora Pearl, aged 12

Divorce

I'm no island
I am Europe, made the less.
My beloved shores erode,
Slip into the cold sea,
Helpless
I watch that which makes me
Crumble.

I'm no child
I am a woman, becoming smaller.
Self reliance has fled,
My soul clambers into it's baby bed,
Helpless
I cry for those who make me
safe.

You're no islands
You are all the earth.
The sure ground I stand upon,
It trembles and quakes,
Helpless
I watch the world rent in
Two.

_________________
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...

Really like the structure of this.

Like the repetition of 'helpless', I didn't see it straight away but when you step back and look at the outline, there it is.

'it's baby bed' - its. Just a suggestion.

Really like 'I am Europe, made the less.' It reminded me of that line in Anthony & Cleopatra: 'For I am Egypt's Queen.' A bold statement of being; of pride. Brought low. There's something Shakespearean in that line. Evocative.

'I am a woman, becoming smaller.' Toyed with the statement 'I am woman' - drop the indefinite article? But then I found I had Helen Reddy going round in my head Might be a risk worth taking.

Is the break in structure deliberate, or should 'Safe' be on a separate line so that each verse ends with a single word? Not that I'm one for routine, but I think the A-symmetry bothers me slightly. Although giving the word 'Safe' that much attention might go against the theme of divorce.

Nice finish.

_________________
Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. - E. L. Doctorow

Hello Ishuheri

Thank you for that - and I edited 'safe', because it was an error and was supposed to be standing alone - thanks for spotting it!

will think about the 'it's' and 'its'.

I'm thinking about the second verse in relation to what you said about 'I am woman'. Although I feel it loses how personal it is to the individual - then again the poem is also supposed to reflect the fact that divorce isn't just personal to two people but it has a wider impact, for example on children - no matter how old they are and then impact wider still and can affect society! Thats why I played a bit with the words and thread of John Donne's poem 'No Man is an Island'.

Anyway thinking about it and thank you for the input.

x

_________________
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...

Two big green thumbs up from me!

aw thank you HogstanceBilgecrack....and now is the time to tell you I love your name! I type it all out so I can say it hah!

_________________
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...

Thank you kindly, Miss Eve. You may call me Hoggy if you like.

Why thank you Hoggy

*eve naive gives hoggy's snout a little pat*

HogstanceBilgecrack sometimes though!

_________________
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...

Lovely poem Eve, hit lots of buttons for me and it is beautifully crafted imho
Thanks.

_________________
Nydas
http://www.walkerbroad.co.uk
http://www.thesanitycompany.co.uk/