Poetry and the horror of Twilight

One of my goals this year is to read more poetry. I still have a stack of books to read, most of them novels and being a slow reader, I don't think I can go through them any faster. Besides, I also want to write more and if I have any talent left for writing, all I can do is poetry. So earlier this month I purchased Adam Zagajewski's Eternal Enemies along with Octavio Paz's On Poets and Others in a second-hand book store. One of these was supposed to be a gift for a friend. Unfortunately, he has both books, also bought together from the same book store! He must really be hiding a big library...

So I ended up having both. Adam Zagajewski's poems are made especially for someone like me. What I really liked are their readability and imagery. I loved the ode to William Blake. Now I really want to read him, too.

Zagajewski usually writes about his trips; what he sees while on a train or when he's just observing. Even the smallest animal or movement gets recorded.

I was on my way home riding a jeepney when I remembered his poetry. I tried looking around for inspiration. An empty lot caught my attention, a pretty little sight. It was a gated spot with graffiti inside. But what made it more interesting was the grass-covered floor. It had yellow flowers allover. It was like peace within chaos. I started composing immediately, in my mind, but what began with some promise, turned out to be a joke of a poem.

The horror of Twilight

I wanted to write about a patch of land I saw
covered in tiny yellow blossoms an hour ago
and compare them to brilliant stars
on the ground in the daylight
but was scared it would remind too much
of Edward from Twilight.

~ Julienne