# Life's Device



## Sumguy (Nov 1, 2017)

I can resist,
but not to resist.
Resist.

Though I exist,
it knows I exist.
Exist.

I look again.
It's there once again.
Again.

Faster lazy,
time is not lazy.
Lazy.

I hide inside.
It’s also inside.
Inside.

Gaining on time,
not moving in time.
Time.

The end will yield
whatever the yield.
Yield.

Rewrite:

Resist.
I can resist,
but not to resist.

Exist.
Though I exist,
it knows I exist.

Again.
I look again.
It's there once again.

Lazy.
Faster lazy,
time is not lazy.

Inside.
I hide inside.
It’s also inside.

Time.
Gaining on time,
not moving in time.

Yield.
The end will yield
whatever the yield.


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## jenthepen (Nov 1, 2017)

Thanks for posting this enigmatic poem, Guy. It feels as though there is a deep message lurking in the deceptively simple layout and wording. Each stanza seems almost like a zen aphorism, leaving the reader to gain from it as they can.


 I have read your poem several times and this is how it has connected with me...


 First stanza
 The _not to_ in the second line suggests indecision and a self-imposed caution against resistance.  


 Second stanza
 The mention of _it _in this stanza brings in an outside element – a driving force?


 Third stanza
 This seems to be saying that this outside element can be ignored or recognised.


 Fourth stanza
 And now there seems to be an urgency and sense that time will not wait.  


 Fifth stanza
 Again, the mention of _it_  and the idea that it is integral and cannot be denied.


 Sixth stanza
 For me, this one feels like making progress or, maybe, getting ahead of oneself?


 Seventh stanza
 I can read this stanza three ways; in the end, everything will be lost
 or, an end is inevitable and will cut across the progress whatever stage it has reached
 or even, whatever has been accumulated will be left as ‘the yield’ when the end comes.


 Depending on mood, this poem could be completely introspective, recognising a personal failing and trying to deal with it, or it could be describing a love and the fear of losing, or it could be all about life and finding meaning through spiritual understanding.  


 Whatever moved you to write this poem, Guy, you have managed to present it in a way that will resonate with different minds differently and that’s one of the real joys of poetry and a neat trick if you can pull it off.


 You might want to come back and talk about your ideas for this poem or you might prefer to leave it as a puzzle. Either way, don’t feel that you need to respond immediately, unless you want to. Others will probably have a completely different take on your poem and maybe you’d like to hear their impressions before telling us too much more.


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## rcallaci (Nov 1, 2017)

An interesting  meditation type poem. I too have read it a few times and I feel that the puzzle of this piece would resonate more by putting the last end word as the front one. 

Resist
I can resist
but not to resist

Exist
Though I exist
it knows I exist

etc etc

By leaving it at the end as you do it only acts as a repeat or echo--- by moving it up front it then acts as the active subject. It becomes more of a force to the whole rather than a redundancy. 

Or you can leave it as it but emphasize the end word. By doing this it makes it the same as putting it in the front. It makes it a active rather than a passive subject. 

I can resist
but not to resist
Resist

Love the concept--very creative....this piece has some bones to it.

warmest
bob


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## Darren White (Nov 1, 2017)

Hi Sumguy,

I really enjoy your poem, it has some good mystery in it, for who is 'it'?

I agree with Bob's first suggestion. The poem will be very powerful if you move the last word to the top of your stanza, it will become strong.

And I have a question about one stanza:





> Though I exist,
> it knows I exist.
> Exist.


It feels to me as if there is a contradiction in this that you perhaps do not intend:
Although you exist it knows you exist? There is something that feels not right to me.
Maybe change 'knows' into 'denies', or something likewise?

Unless I understand you wrongly, in which case I am dying to know what it means


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## Firemajic (Nov 1, 2017)

Sumguy said:


> I can resist,
> but not to resist.
> Resist.
> 
> ...




Hello, Sumguy, Thank you for posting this intriguing poem....I will start with the title: Life's Device... what is a device? 
Device: A thing made or adapted for a particular purpose.
A plan, scheme or trick with a particular aim.
A drawing or design.
So, the title I believe is key to understanding the mystery of this poem....

The second thing is understanding "IT".... what or who is "IT"... 
to me I feel a conflict between "You" and "IT"

First line "I can resist"... this line speaks of inner chaos or struggle, and the need to resist. To gain control of your life? Maybe....

Then this line: "I hide inside".... I escape the demons in my life by retreating INSIDE myself...but what if the torment is INSIDE of ones self? You have nowhere to hide from life... which brings me back to the title... what IS this device... and is it of your making.... 
"The end will yield whatever the yield".... sounds dire, as if you have no control as to the outcome of this inner struggle...

This poem creates a lot of questions for me... made me think, wonder and ask questions... and that is a fabulous thing 
Thank you for the pleasure of reading your work..


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## Sara Ella (Nov 1, 2017)

Hello Sumguy,  I really enjoy the pattern of this poem - the repeating words suggest to me that this is an affirmation or an echo.  I also sense the inevitable.  There are so many ways to read your poem - it is very profound that way.


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## Sumguy (Nov 1, 2017)

jenthepen said:


> Thanks for posting this enigmatic poem, Guy. It feels as though there is a deep message lurking in the deceptively simple layout and wording. Each stanza seems almost like a zen aphorism, leaving the reader to gain from it as they can.
> 
> 
> I have read your poem several times and this is how it has connected with me...
> ...



Indecision is it precisely, not really out of caution, but, rather, out of the futility of resisting the inevitable.



jenthepen said:


> Second stanza
> The mention of _it _in this stanza brings in an outside element – a driving force?



Yes, "it" is what I am alluding to as Life's Device.



jenthepen said:


> Third stanza
> This seems to be saying that this outside element can be ignored or recognized.



More that, no matter how hard I try to ignore it, it's always there, and, what's more, the fact that it is always there causes me to obsess over it by checking on it. This was the first part that I wrote and I liked it, so I built the rest of the poem around this structure.



jenthepen said:


> Fourth stanza
> And now there seems to be an urgency and sense that time will not wait.



Yes. The more I try to relax and be lazy, the faster (annoyingly) time passes. The cliche time flies when you're having fun comes close.



jenthepen said:


> Fifth stanza
> Again, the mention of _it_  and the idea that it is integral and cannot be denied.



No matter how I try to lock myself away and hide from it, it is always in me.



jenthepen said:


> Sixth stanza
> For me, this one feels like making progress or, maybe, getting ahead of oneself?



In this case, I am referring to the fact that I am catching up to a specific time...a time when I will have to return to it, or when it ceases to exist altogether.



jenthepen said:


> Seventh stanza
> I can read this stanza three ways; in the end, everything will be lost
> or, an end is inevitable and will cut across the progress whatever stage it has reached
> or even, whatever has been accumulated will be left as ‘the yield’ when the end comes.



The third take is what I had in mind. It's basically a warning to myself that, in the end, there are no do overs and time wasted does not add to the bottom line of my life.



jenthepen said:


> Depending on mood, this poem could be completely introspective, recognising a personal failing and trying to deal with it, or it could be describing a love and the fear of losing, or it could be all about life and finding meaning through spiritual understanding.



For me, it is introspective. I recently had a couple of days off of work at home by myself. I did absolutely nothing but lay around, attempting to relax and escape reality (work pressure, financial, etc). This never works though, and, no matter how I try, the time disappears at an astonishing pace. Anyway, that's what I had in mind when I started writing this poem and, ultimately, the thoughts expressed in the poem are what prompted me to start writing fiction (and poetry) again.

By the way, the it I am referring to is reality. If you take the first letter of the individual words, it spells reality. It was the "device" I used to form the poem around my initial stanza (which wound up being the third, based on the device).



jenthepen said:


> Whatever moved you to write this poem, Guy, you have managed to present it in a way that will resonate with different minds differently and that’s one of the real joys of poetry and a neat trick if you can pull it off.
> 
> 
> You might want to come back and talk about your ideas for this poem or you might prefer to leave it as a puzzle. Either way, don’t feel that you need to respond immediately, unless you want to. Others will probably have a completely different take on your poem and maybe you’d like to hear their impressions before telling us too much more.



Thank you so much for your encouraging words and the time you spent considering and commenting on this poem.


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## Sumguy (Nov 1, 2017)

rcallaci said:


> An interesting  meditation type poem. I too have read it a few times and I feel that the puzzle of this piece would resonate more by putting the last end word as the front one.
> 
> Resist
> I can resist
> ...



Thank you so much for your time and critique. I absolutely love your suggestion of moving the single word to the front end and I will add just such a rewrite shortly.


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## Sumguy (Nov 1, 2017)

Darren White said:


> Hi Sumguy,
> 
> I really enjoy your poem, it has some good mystery in it, for who is 'it'?
> 
> ...



Thank you for your time and comments. In this case, "it" is reality. To be honest, I didn't always fully understand the meaning of my own thoughts and really struggled to express them. What I was trying to express with "it knows I exist" is that reality is always stalking me, for as long as I exist. Hopefully this helps explain it a bit more. Thanks again for your review.


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## rcallaci (Nov 1, 2017)

I'm surprised  at myself for not noticing your *acrostic*-brilliantly done...


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## Sumguy (Nov 1, 2017)

Firemajic said:


> Hello, Sumguy, Thank you for posting this intriguing poem....I will start with the title: Life's Device... what is a device?
> Device: A thing made or adapted for a particular purpose.
> A plan, scheme or trick with a particular aim.
> A drawing or design.
> So, the title I believe is key to understanding the mystery of this poem....



You are correct. I was considering naming the poem "Reality", but that would have immediately given it all away, and I thought that would rob the reader of the opportunity to derive their own meaning. Also, the fact that the first letter of the repeating words spells out reality hints to what it meant to me.

So, from there I thought that the trick of spelling reality like I did was a device and it wasn't a stretch to refer to reality as, not only life's device, but mine as well (put to use in forming the poem).



Firemajic said:


> The second thing is understanding "IT".... what or who is "IT"...
> to me I feel a conflict between "You" and "IT"



There absolutely is a conflict between myself and it. Although the poem is pointing towards a truce, or perhaps an all out capitulation (from myself of course).



Firemajic said:


> First line "I can resist"... this line speaks of inner chaos or struggle, and the need to resist. To gain control of your life? Maybe....



Not really a need to resist so much as a desire to resist. But the struggle is definitely there, as well as a desire to gain, if not control, balance.



Firemajic said:


> Then this line: "I hide inside".... I escape the demons in my life by retreating INSIDE myself...but what if the torment is INSIDE of ones self? You have nowhere to hide from life... which brings me back to the title... what IS this device... and is it of your making....



Exactly. And, ultimately, my reality is partly of my own making.



Firemajic said:


> "The end will yield whatever the yield".... sounds dire, as if you have no control as to the outcome of this inner struggle...



Dire indeed. However, I believe I do have some control, it's just a matter of finding the fortitude to exercise that control.



Firemajic said:


> This poem creates a lot of questions for me... made me think, wonder and ask questions... and that is a fabulous thing
> Thank you for the pleasure of reading your work..



Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to share what is, I think, a very perceptive analysis.


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## Sumguy (Nov 1, 2017)

Sara Ella said:


> Hello Sumguy,  I really enjoy the pattern of this poem - the repeating words suggest to me that this is an affirmation or an echo.  I also sense the inevitable.  There are so many ways to read your poem - it is very profound that way.



Thanks for taking the time to read my work and respond. I liked the pattern as well, although I am not really sure why. Perhaps you are correct about the echo. It began with the third stanza and I just built the poem around that pattern because I really liked it.

You are definitely correct about the inevitable. Thank you again for your encouragement and time.


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## jenthepen (Nov 2, 2017)

Sumguy said:


> Indecision is it precisely, not really out of caution, but, rather, out of the futility of resisting the inevitable.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I missed the acrostic element of your poem too. Ha! REALITY was staring me in the face and still I didn't see it. :witless:

Thanks for allowing us inside your thinking as you wrote this poem. The stress of reality for working people is scary today - expectations are so high and nothing feels secure. I hope writing this helped a little with all that. It was a very worthwhile exercise anyway - you certainly weren't wasting time with this poem.


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## Darren White (Nov 2, 2017)

You wrote an acrostic!!!
And I didn't even notice  
It's great.


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