"Ice Age Atom Bomb"

[The Wanderer]

"Ice Age Atom Bomb"

fresh soul, thirsts
to awaken now
claw out of another dream
across the fractured space in your mind
center gravity in your slithering spine
disease of the light-hearted sun,
clouds my soft-lit vision
an axe thru your subzero conscience
God spins away
darkness wraps you in out-stretched arms
sleep stalks the hydrogen plumes of mercury
dream sequence spills around you
stabbing rays of the sun,
cut and bleed your polarized soul
God clots the wounds
as Satan swarms to drain the twilight
They tear you in two
drifting star bleats
sheepskin shed
spawn again sweet nothing
lost in space
you will never find me
I am echoing thru my time...

listen to me
voice inside you
like a buzzsaw
you will bleed
for me,
into me

in the center of the earth
the magma swelters and swirls
naked ghosts burnt to the ground
ice pours thru the cracks above
cut down your frosted limbs
volcanic ice storm siphons,
vacuum peaks with hovering halos...
trying to stand the pain of emptiness
pagan Gods and pollination showers
no shelter...
from the vampire sonnets,
closing in on epilogue

falling ice
jagged teeth of misogyny
snow capped ulcers blister and crack
dark wombs of the martyr
beneath the ice you slide away
plummeting with ecstasy
you wish
upon the stars
to lift you up
and set you free

your death was a shadow in time
life was a space between the shadows
ice age revolution ------> to the atom bomb evolution


-----
I was looking at the cover of Radiohead's Kid A when I wrote this, while soaking up the atmosphere in those songs, and listening to a Smashing Pumpkins song called "Glass and the Ghost Children" when I finished writing the last few lines...

certain songs and images bend my thoughts in all sorts of ways, I was wondering if anyone else listened to music while they tried to write down their thoughts, and if it effects your writing the way it effects mine?

 

[BabyGrace]

once again, incredible, Wanderer

yes, I listen to music a lot while I write and I think it really helps my writing...puts more emotion in it

it would be cool if we posted the song(s) we were listening to when we wrote the poetry. I've thought about doing that...

------------------
Just the bang and the clatter
As an angel runs to ground...

 

[Alisaura]

Amazing...
I'm hardly ever not listening to music, and yeah, it's the safest mind-altering substance I know of. I dunno if any of you remember that time Zooropa invaded and defined my psyche and I let it all bleed out here...

*loves this whole forum*

This poem is so full of incredible imagery... it's going to take me a little while to let it all sink in...

"naked ghosts burnt to the ground"...
"your death was a shadow in time"...

 

[Michael Griffiths]

Wanderer,

That's amazing! Yeah, I often listen to music when I'm writing -- actually it's usually because I'm listening that I end up writing! -- as I find it does alter my thoughts in a way that's condusive to picking up on the little things, and the flavour, the mood, the feel, of whatever I'm being injected with at the time. This poem is incredibe, but those last few lines are really blowing me away:

"your death was a shadow in time
life was a space between the shadows
ice age revolution ------> to the atom bomb evolution"

"life was a space between the shadows" -- now why didn't I think of that? Too good.

------------------
The Tempest

[This message has been edited by Michael Griffiths (edited 03-08-2001).]

 

[The Wanderer]

thanks for the kind words all

I remember that Ali, there were only a few of us around here back then, I think it was ZooManda, Bebe, Bicyclingfish, Scappy and myself... along with you (whatever happened to Bicyclingfish, Scappy and Bebe, we never see them around here anymore) anyway, Zooropa sure can do that to you

Michael, you are far too kind

I agree with you whole-heartedly, and I can say that there have been times when I have felt utterly dry and uninspired, with no ounce of creativity left in my bones, and I will be listening to a certain CD, or maybe even just one particular song, and it's like the flood gates open up, that's sort of what happened with that poem... I haven't written much lately, I've been busy with work, etc., and from out of nowhere this piece came rushing out

I was wondering what some of you did when you felt uncreative or blocked? how do you get inspired? sometimes music or just sitting outside and soaking up life around me will do it for me, I think I need to slow down sometimes and remember what is beautiful about life, sometimes we tend to lose track of what's most important, and the things that mean the most to us... I think, are the things that inspire us the most

[This message has been edited by The Wanderer (edited 03-09-2001).]

 

[Alisaura]

This place is strange, I feel so close to you people...
*shrug*
I don't know that I do anything consciously to unblock myself, creativity-wise... sometimes I can write and sometimes I can't. But yes Wanderer, slowing down and seeing life's beauty is definately a key, whether intentional or not... for example, that silverblue thing I wrote a little while ago bubbled up after I'd seen moonlight coming through my curtains late one night when I couldn't sleep... I went out and looked at the full moon, and it was THE most beautiful night... I just stood there and breathed it in and... well, you read it...

blah... enough waffling from me!

 

[Michael Griffiths]

Wanderer,

I'm starting to realize that inspiration comes, usually, when your in the right frame of mind (basically what you've already said), but how to get into that frame of mind is key. Whether you realize it or not (I never really did, or really thought about it until recently), is that you're in a semi-trance when writing creatively. Sometimes, a piece of music, or something else inspiring will get you there, so you don't have to think about it, but other times -- when you have writers block or are uninspired -- you need to meditate. I don't mean like the Dali Lama, or Yoda, but just sitting down, relaxing, setting your mind free for a few minutes, just letting the thoughts come -- letting the thoughts find you, rather than the other way around. I wrote this little paragraph on creativity once. I'll share it with you:

Michael on creativity:

...Yes, exactly. It's when you lose the focus of
things on a conscious level, and let the focal point
take on its own identity, its own spirit, that it
becomes more of a case of letting that become its own self,
rather than you searching for it. That's when
something truly inspiring takes place -- when the
author gets lost, forgets the detail, and the
blurriness becomes more of a guide into its source
rather than a hindrance, if that makes any sense.
There is a wonder in the act of discovery that takes
place. It's not really a conscious act, but a creative
act -- the creativity guides you, rather than the
other way around.

So there you go -- in order to get into that place, you need to let loose, get into the right frame of mind, otherwise you'll treat it as a math problem, and the wrong side of the brain will step in, causing all kinds of havoc! Hope that helps.

------------------
The Tempest

 

[The Wanderer]

yes, I think that's what I was getting at, except I didn't explain it as well as you

that's the same reason why I have struggled mightily to ever write a structured poem