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 |   A tentative blog to test the temperature. |
| Sociopath Explained A couple of days ago, I told another member of WdC that I didn’t agree with explaining art of any kind. If a piece requires that someone stand next to it, pointing out meaning and hidden subtleties, then it isn’t art. If the piece cannot stand alone, then who will speak up for it when this generation is dead and forgotten? It becomes dumb, without possibility of speaking to us. Call it karma or whatever you will, today I wrote something that urges me to add a note to explain it, insisting that they will miss its clever nuances. I resisted its blandishments but, moments before submitting it to the appropriate contest, I added just a pointer, a signpost about where to look. My note said this: punctuation or lack of it intended. But the poem still nags at me for a fuller exposition. The darn thing is tiny (it was written for the 24 Syllables Contest) but its meaning hinges on an important point that is too easily missed. I figure that here, in my blog that no one reads, it is safe to explain in full. Here’s the poem: Sociopath You need catharsis to empty the emotion from the depths within the cold voice responds, “And then?” The crux is that middle line, “from the depths within.” It is deliberately ambiguous, being able to be read, “to empty the emotions from the depths within,” or “from the depths within the cold voice responds.” Both meanings are intended, so the central line does the work of two, initially assisting what has gone before but then, like an optical illusion, joining forces with what follows to create an entirely new perspective. All that is needed to swap between the two meanings is a full stop (period) after “within.” But then, to preserve the ambiguity, the stop would have to flash on and off like a failing neon sign. I could, of course just repeat the line to make its dual nature quite clear, but that ignores the limitation of 24 syllables. In the end I am drawn to do exactly what I have done - to remove punctuation apart from an initial capital, a comma and the spoken question at the end. They won’t get it, I know. But principle dictates that I keep silent on the matter, apart from my hint about punctuation. It’s a pity in a way, since I’m beginning to quite like the little thing. Word Count: 408 |
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