PlaneShift
Fan Area => Roleplaying (Communitive Storywriting) => Poetry, Comedy, and other. => Topic started by: steuben on October 22, 2006, 01:40:30 am
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the demon did not call us,
we came.
the demon bid us go,
we stayed.
he promised us death,
we fought for life.
through fire, we stood by him.
into hell, we followed him.
we were his because.
because,
because...
we were his because,
behind us there were
those who should not be
what we were.
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o_0 oooo
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My brain hurts now. What have you done!
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::)
steuben...pat yourself on the backk
you got phineases brain to hurt :D :D
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we were his because,
behind us there were
those who should not be
what we were.
It's that part. It hurts...
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:innocent:
picky picky picky...
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No, I mean it hurts to think about it. To try and figure out what the heck it's s'posed to mean. *bangs head on keyboard*
Ok, we should really stop spamming up poor Steuby's thread.
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'behind us' makes me think they were protecting some people from being haunted by this demon
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no, no. by all means discuss.
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Inherent irony. The meaning of the poem is the meaning you take from it, DESPITE the intention of the author.
"we were his because,
behind us there were
those who should not be
what we were."
To me, this implies that these people left the rest of humanity for fear that their presence would hurt others if they had stayed.
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the demon did not call us,
we came.
*A force of evil always draws the heroes to call. Or is it the demon in our own hearts that makes us follow this man?
the demon bid us go,
we stayed.
*Bids and orders fall on deaf ears when there is something to protect.
he promised us death,
we fought for life.
*The lives not ours, but those left behind.
through fire, we stood by him.
*Though it burns, the fire can not be left to spread.
into hell, we followed him.
*As that is where all battles lead.
we were his because.
because,
because...
we were his because,
behind us there were
those who should not be
what we were.
*And our children should not have to fight. We follow you, our Lord, our demon of the bloodied fields. Show us how to save them from our fate. Show us the demons that we, to, must become.
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the demon did not call us,
we came.
* we were called to the demon because of our nature
the demon bid us go,
we stayed.
* we were not made to stay, we stayed because of our nature
he promised us death,
we fought for life.
* death and life are not necessarily contradictions; death can mean suffering and pain, or it can mean the end of the self, perhaps resulting in rebirth and therefore new life or a new existence
through fire, we stood by him.
into hell, we followed him.
* fire can mean a process of purification or a common struggle
we were his because.
because,
because...
we were his because,
behind us there were
those who should not be
what we were.
* ambiguous, but implies a driving purpose to the endeavor; the endeavor does not justify itself, something is accomplished by it
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That poem is really deep and I really, really like it. I felt compelled to understand and work out in my head what this poem's meaning was. I mean there are so many possibilities. The end is excellent because I received goosebumps from those last four short yet unnerving written sentences. I can only guess in my head what I might think this poem is trying to communicate but truly it will hold different meanings for everyone. For some, like myself it holds many messages and meanings. This is a wonderful piece of work and I applaud you Steuben for coming up with this mind twister. It was a treat.
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*bows, being right "for the most part"*
You folks must not have read steuben's other stories.
The explination in plain, as I see it:
The 'demon' is not an evil, but the nickname of a leader in battles. Let's call him Steuben. The land is torn and the people are without hope. They turn to the Demon to lead them in battle after battle to win peace. Soldiers will follow a good leader to whatever he takes them. In the end, they are fighting for him, because they see themselves as -his- men. They are also fighting for those they left behind, so that their children do not have to "be what we were". That being hopeless and stricken by terrible times.
The poem is not about defeating a demon of great evil. it is about finding hope for the people at the loss of yourself.
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This is my take on the entire poem. It's very abstract, but I decided there had to be a seperate allegorical reference that could be made, because as many have said here "A poem is what you interpret". This is what I have made out of the whole thing:
The demon is simply cowardice.
Cowardice wants us to go, but instead we stay. He tells us we will die if we stay, but we fight instead even if it endangers ourselves. Through many trials he is always near us. Into the pits of hell itself, he is our companion. We are his because. Because we are who we are, he is cowardice. Perhaps if we were cowardice, he would be justice and bravery instead. A logic perhaps, but still a logic flawed. Behind us there are those just like us, and they shouldn’t fight. That is why we fight, that is why we are who we are.
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And this is why I hate poetry. Too open to subjectivity and... overall strangeness.Thanks Moony for telling us what it's abut, if that's really what it's about.
No, don't lecture me on the fact that poetry is meant to be subjective to the readers, etc. etc. I understand. I just don't enjoy it.
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You are welcome, and it is (for the most part, as steuben told me)
Do not doubt the moon when it comes to writing. ;)
Spellin'....well, that is another subject. xD
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And this is why I hate poetry. Too open to subjectivity and... overall strangeness.Thanks Moony for telling us what it's abut, if that's really what it's about.
No, don't lecture me on the fact that poetry is meant to be subjective to the readers, etc. etc. I understand. I just don't enjoy it.
The fact that literature can have multiple meanings is one of the many things that makes a work of art great. I'd even say that it's a part of what makes it art. And well it should because it reflects life; life itself is inherently subjective.
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And this is why I hate poetry. Too open to subjectivity and... overall strangeness.Thanks Moony for telling us what it's abut, if that's really what it's about.
No, don't lecture me on the fact that poetry is meant to be subjective to the readers, etc. etc. I understand. I just don't enjoy it.
The fact that literature can have multiple meanings is one of the many things that makes a work of art great. I'd even say that it's a part of what makes it art. And well it should because it reflects life; life itself is inherently subjective.
Doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't exactly have an artist's soul, if you haven't picked that up yet. As for life being subjective, I'm not sure I agree with that, but I can't think about it right now, because I'm tired. I might get back to you on that one, but I'm sure you don't really care what I think, and neither do I, so I probably won't.
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People disagree on things all the time and there's little to say who is right or wrong in the end. Our understanding of existence is dependant on assumption, and our assumptions change and bend and evolve as we age. I think that's good grounds to say that life is subjective.
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People disagree on things all the time and there's little to say who is right or wrong in the end. Our understanding of existence is dependant on assumption, and our assumptions change and bend and evolve as we age. I think that's good grounds to say that life is subjective.
Perhaps, but I believe in God, and therefore I believe in His standards and measurements in life. Therefore although people view life subjectively, there is only one objective reality. Anyway, I'm not going to discuss this here, Steuben doesn't deserve to have a thread ruined.
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I should have known.
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/me looks at the calender and decides to bump this.
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/shrug
They fought against something to protect those behind them because; they wanted to ensure a better future or correct a moral wrong that shouldn't have to inflict those being protected.
It may be the argument of a parent: They were poor and worked to become wealthy so their child would not have to live in poverty.
It may be the argument of a vigilante: Use the tactics the evil they seek to undo wields to eradicate them.
Some analysis after reading the poem. Not absolute, just what came to mind.
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??? god you're worse than emily dickinson. thanks for breaking my mind.
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I totally stink at understanding poetry .. might as well be Greek.
Here's my guess..
First part suggests to me that "we" saw something evil,bad,burdensome and were enticed by it
This could be a drug,drinking, gambling, addiction, some form of abuse
It was a demon .. something that perhaps should NOT be so enticing...
the demon did not call us,
we came.
the demon bid us go,
we stayed.
he promised us death,
we fought for life.
through fire, we stood by him.
into hell, we followed him.
we were his because.
because,
because...
And as a result of our following and embracing of this so called demon we became it ourselves ( or became one with it ) .. and others repeated the cycle .. this time following us.
we were his because,
behind us there were
those who should not be
what we were.
Actually .. I kinda like this one ..
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so addicts became addicts for those who should not be addicts?
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Well, the case of the addict analogy, the addict is enticed towards something "bad".. - lets say its enki-nip
"The demon did not call us, we came". The enki-nip did not call the addict .. its was the other way around
"The demon bid us go, we stayed". The consequences of this this addiction should have pushed the addict away ( perhaps getting caught for the first time, or a near fatal accident ) .. but the addict stuck to his enki-nip
"He promised us death, we fought for life". The addict knows where he is headed .. but strives anyway despite his fate
"Through fire we stood by him, into hell we followed him". The addict endures all sorts of suffering and misery and eventually his life is turned into hell but he does not flee
"We were his because" .. Well, in the case of the addict he is clearly owned
"behind us there were those who should not be what we were." - Other addicts will foolishly imitate him and follow. This should not happen and is unfortunate .. but it happens.
I don't know if this is what you had in mind when you wrote this or not. The pattern just looked similar.