I find myself in a rage
Inhabiting the mythical sincerity
of a murdered poet (run over & over),
once seen as calculating and insincere
like a youth who doesn’t know anything about himself
Sides with the party but isn’t a member,
posits policemen are the true proletariat –
haunted by a father who saved Mussolini
except that he is new and rants against the old world.
Tries to express the viewpoint of the believer –
finds it hard to escape the self reflection
of the inner bourgeoisie, really, who wouldn’t?
Buys a castle in Viterbo, north of Rome,
illuminating the coprophagia of consumerism
in a film based on Sade’s 120 journées
I don’t hide this state of mine:
Poetry reduces to defense, compromise,
renunciation, naïveté that shrivels prestige –
how much reality can there be?
I never have peace, ever.*
* Pier Paolo Pasolini (Director, Poet, Philosopher)
Chromapoetica 
interesting character in your verse…his beliefs sound much different than mine and maybe plays both sides of the fence and in the end chooses a lifestyle of the in crowd…and when all your poetry does is defend your own position i wonder how good it sill really be…i like how you break up each stanza with the quote as well…nice anna…
I’m not sure if he played both sides or if he looked deeply, I’m on the fence :). He is the one who stated his poetry was a defense, a compromise, in a poem called Reality. I liked the idea of using the questioning of identity as an anti-compositional device, something that doesn’t allow us to be balanced in ourselves.
Anna, incredible! Don’t know about that coprophagia though (yuk)–but what a great metaphor for greed. I like how you interspersed the interior reflection with the narrative.
He used it in his film Salo and I agree with you, I was repulsed! Thank you for the excellent prompt, it was thought provoking.
I can see the anger clearly…phew. 🙂
I always appreciate your visits :).
Amazing …
Thanks Polly :).
Love this, the framing so effectively amplifies the poem’s profundity.
Steve! Great to see you, thanks for the lovely compliment.
I love your ending:
“how much reality can there be?
I never have peace, ever.”
Sweet :).
I really, really like this Anna. I may elaborate later…. 🙂
How intriguing; thanks Steve :)!
To be more specific, I enjoy the strong contrasts & sharp conversational tone of the piece. Especially the ending:
“I don’t hide this state of mine:
Poetry reduces to defense, compromise,
renunciation, naïveté that shrivels prestige –
how much reality can there be?
I never have peace, ever.”
🙂 Nice!
very interesting reflections and thoughts in this…made me think quite a bit… also the quote..can partly relate to it
Ha, it made me think too :).
Very cool balance here and strong strong beginning – the run over and over a vivid image. k.
Yes, it was how he was murdered. I normally shy away from macabre but I thought it fit the tone. Thanks!
A poem like this is the saw-the-woman-in-the-box-half trick gone curiously right.
Awesome, I don’t think I’d like to see that.
this seems a strange person for you to visit. he seems very different to you.
you are not materialistic or sadistic.
it is confronting and makes me wonder who i am.
one of the other poets is writing a funereal poem about themselves and i wonder what
is significant about our lives and what i would write about myself in retrospect.
perhaps we are nearly at a point where the people are police with cameras watching the police and recording their actions there is a change in the roles there perhaps.
doubt is corrosive. it would be nice to be childish or direct and without the other foolishness of being uncertain and old enough that we should know ourselves.
perhaps it is summer there and stark. it is rainy here, some plants are frost burned, the ground is sodden and i am enjoying some new gumboots which do make me feel like a child in the mud.
i hope there are not such difficult people in your world.
Yes, my brother gave me his book of poetry and I’ve seen a couple of his films. When Victoria’s prompt came up his quote, which I’ve been looking for a way to use immediately came to mind. Obviously I agree with you that I am not sadistic or materialistic :D.
I thought his views and questioning nature would provide a good framework for a confrontational piece about identity. I don’t have anyone in my life like this and summer is nice and cool at the top of the mountain :). Thank you for your ever fascinating comments and close reading.
This is a superb example of working with complexity without sacrificing flow. Remarkable piece, Anna.
Wow, thanks MZ, you’ve made my day :)!
I’d like to think that a lack of peace, always, is a testimony for the parts of society that keep enduring and moving onward. It sounds like he is one of these. Thank you for a glimpse into his world. Excellent reflection on what we commonly see and what we keep deep inside.
Thank you Archna, nice to see you again!
Tries to express the viewpoint of the believer –
finds it hard to escape the self reflection
of the inner bourgeoisie, really, who wouldn’t?
Sometimes one needs to reflect on realities but can’t help but revert to one’s being. A bourgeoisie certainly maintains that aloofness and pride in his works! Wonderful write Anna!
Hank
Some interesting thoughts, thanks Hank!
very neat. Has a real biographical feel here, historically stylized, yet with a nice flow and inner rhythm. Love the final reflective verse, and the italicized lines are a line in it’s self, skillfully broken up to form the skeleton and frame here. Terrific piece. Thanks
Fred, glad to see you are online again, I was worried about you. Thank you, I thought the interspersing of his quote would help present his voice in the poem and also fit Victoria’s suggestions for the prompt. I hope you feel better very soon.
I think this captures Pasolini perfectly, that contradiction of views he embodied to charismatically, seemingly capriciously. I mean, how else explain Arabian Nights with its blunt sensuality and the Passion According to Matthew, one of the great religious films of all time? Beautifully done poet, I must say.
Exactly, I thought of him as a man of contrasts and complexities who immediately came to my mind when I read Victoria’s prompt. I’m excited that you see what I was trying to accomplish with this piece, thank you!