Comment from BeasPeas

Excellent

Hi Craig. I like the photo and the poem. I'm not too sure what the poem is about, so I'll bring my on interpretation to it and that is photographs, which are a long-remembered treasure of past people and events. No sure where the Kool-Aid fits in either. These things remind me of one of my favorite sayings: "It is what it is."
"Maybe,
more often than we think,
a statue
is a statue."
Marilyn

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2018

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reply by the author on 08-Sep-2018

Hi Marilyn, the Kool-Aid is a reference to Jonestown, and the danger of zealotry and extremism, which is often exacerbated by seeing simple things as being a lot more significant than they really are. That was the basic intention here. The thing with the camera is basically saying "these things won't steal your soul, just appreciate them". Basically, it boils down to your beloved saying... most of the time, "it is what it is". Many thanks, Craig

Comment from --Turtle.

Excellent

Hey, Craig,

Nice job with this freeverse. I don't know enough about the form or non-form of the poem, but I can say it is pleasing to eye and mind. The fast pace of one rejection of superstition, one after the other... the human need to add additional meaning to items beyond (a statue to praise and channel magic and favors to increase fertility, a statue to ward off aliens, a statue that gets closer every time you blink... and a statue to ... well, how about to just look pretty for the sake of looking pretty.

I thought the tone and flow of this worked very well, if anything, my only pausing was the mentioning of Kool aid ... (and it wasn't the pause of thinking it should go or stay.... what I liked about it, is it's a nice packaged way to give a sense of religious poison in very few words. As litterally, the Kool Aid being the poison fed to the Jones town victims for beliefs and religious followings gone very wrong. It's also more mildly used in reference to anything wacky believed in a cultish sort of behavior with negative undertones, though the extreme being loss of real life.

So many photos and chotchkies never embraced, or overly embraced for that beyond perhaps the intent.

The other side of the use of Kool Aid that I wasn't sure about, was it had a different feel from the original tone in the poem, and I wondered if there was another word that would work? Not sure, just a thought that I was split on.

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 Comment Written 08-Sep-2018

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reply by the author on 08-Sep-2018

As always, you hit the nail on the head with your comments, Turtle.

You know, the rest of the poem has not changed a word from what first came out, but those last two lines are in their third incarnation as you see them - meaning I struggled to say exactly what I wanted.

Originally, it was just one line - "Take the photo" -- and that may still prove to be the best way to go. The second version had:

Take the photo.
Smell the flowers.


Which made another point I would have liked to make, a rough summary being "ease up". But then, that seemed kind of out of place with the rest of the imagery, and also a bit of a cliche.

The third version is what you see, and while the Kool Aid conveys an aspect of the theme that you've summarised very well, I think perhaps it is, as you say, a bit out of tone with the rest of it. I'll give it some more thought and see if I can come up with something better.

Most appreciative of your spot-on observations, as always.

Craig

Comment from Sandra du Plessis

Excellent

A very well-written free verse poem about the icons we set for ourselves in all kind of ways not only statues that become icons but also things we put high on our priority list become icons in our lives.

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 Comment Written 08-Sep-2018

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reply by the author on 08-Sep-2018

Thanks so much, Sandra. Most grateful for your support and thoughtful comments. Craig