How do You do This?


How do You do This?
By: Alice Afonso

It was told to draft a lyric,
Without a distinct symbol.
It’s not vulgar or anything.
I don’t actually know why it’s taboo.

Thinking about it,
Why is anything wrong in our world? Why is anything how it is taught to us?
I didn’t say what that symbol was,
so you, my public, won’t know what it is just from this.
That is how our community functions.

Assigning things as wrong with no justification,
so younglings must sort out things without a map,
without any guiding from adults,
who would pick to avoid taboo topics than
assist lost souls.

Th_r_ ar_ som_ who manag_ to liv_ lik_ this.
_scaping only th_ forbidd_n,
It still ob_ys th_ rul_s,
But it com_s out crud_, cold, and unw_lcoming.   

But nothing is as bad as actually bringing it forth!
Thought out trials for all groups who confront an organization.
Don’t buy it? Think of a rioting group who wasn’t put down…

I’ll wait.

Nothing. Just thinking of disrupting customs can alarm many into submission,
which high individuals twist for narcissistic gains.
And find a way to squish it,
or profit from it.

Did you think of a way of living during your study of this writing?
Did it insight in you agitation? Good or bad?
This is your call.
This is it. Saying you can go push humanity upwards by pushing our ruling organization down.
Mustn’t occur in grand sight.
Find daily things that push you to slam you hand down and say,
“No.”





Explanation of poem-
I would like to begin by acknowledging the following: Definitely harder than I thought to write without a letter, which here I couldn’t mention the letter E, now that I can, I want to work with E until the end of time. After being acquainted with the idea of replacing a word due to that defect, I am now much more able to write an explanation without another forbidden letter. Notice how in the poem I couldn’t utilize the word “letter” due to the E rule, but now I can’t apply the word I did before due to the new rule. However, I think the hard part came more from finding what to talk about. I had enough guiding to know what not to do, but not enough to know what to do, and the analogy made in the poem didn’t come to me until today, the day before I had to turn it in, which made me rewrite everything I had worked on before. In the beginning of the poem, my idea generated more around the LGBTQ+ movement, but around line 21 I began thinking more about BLM. I know they are not the only two I could’ve thought of, and I deliberately didn’t mention any at all, to be able to let the reader come up with them on their own. I would love to know what anyone thought of while reading the poem!


Comments

  1. La DiaphaneFebruary 14, 2018 at 7:43 PM

    Alice, this is really cool. I like how you brought in social metaphors while you wrote the poem. The poem itself was very lyrical and nice to read, and I especially enjoyed the section where you left blanks for where the letter E was supposed to be. I thought it was really cool that you did that, and also that you didn't do it for the whole poem. Good job!

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  2. Nina GalvezFebruary 20, 2018 at 4:49 PM

    I thought this was a very good poem, especially having the restriction of not using the letter E! I'm glad that you mentioned the movements in your explanation section because while reading it, I first thought the poem was about the restriction of not using the letter E. As I read more, I noticed a switch in the amount of passion and started to brainstorm some issues that you might be addressing. Great poem and post!

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  3. Leslie AnukwuFebruary 26, 2018 at 7:06 AM

    I can hardly write at all, let alone writing without a letter. This was such a good post! I honestly never understand why things are taught the way they are, and as you probably know different countries teach things differently. What is the true proper way? Why do my parents try to belt me when I don't understand the math they don't know how to explain or teach? Your post truly has me thinking... Good job! :thumbs_up:

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  4. isabella solisMarch 5, 2018 at 9:57 AM

    This is great Alice! I think that you did a good job of working in an actual theme to the poem, and I liked the stanza with the es "cut out." I really loved this line: "Don’t buy it? Think of a rioting group who wasn’t put down…"

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  5. MajerusMarch 13, 2018 at 7:30 AM

    I like how you took this in a protest direction––that seems very apt, given the prohibition that the assignment. Even though in this case it was random and meant for fun and experimentation, it still offers a chance to think about arbitrary prohibitions. I laughed when you shared in your reflection that you "want to work with E until the end of time." It seems like you had less trouble doing without "s"? Or maybe you were just well practiced at that point.

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