A Turn for the Verse: “Tympanic, tym to panic”

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

“Tympanic, tym to panic” – Marjan Islam

My tympanic membrane,

Burst on an airplane,

As we descended into madness

The pressure building in my sinus

Dr. Dre Beats™ headphones,

Echoing jams and timbre tones,

But now, failing to equalize

The air to my ears, failing to normalize

Failing to neutralize, the pain like electricity

A blocked passage, the air in unforeseen intensity

Clouding all sound and all focus,

Trapped within a skull, like a sonic locust

And then madness was reached, yet madness dissolved

The plane came to a halt, the pain absolved

Now a confused medical student, but with a differential at hand

A differential so astute, with the Stony Brook brand

Transient trigeminal neuralgia …m-maybe?

4 comments:

Maria Basile said...: "Trapped within a skull, like a sonic locust"

Great line, Marjan! Oooh I feel the pain. Left ear owrse than the right!; April 10, 2012 at 10:25 PM
Jason Yu said...: For those of you that don't know, Marjan used to be in a rap group in high school. Ask him to show you sometime, greatest time ever. The imagery is really palpable, especially cause I always see those Dre beats headphones always growing out of your chest hair.; April 11, 2012 at 8:46 AM
Justina said...: i totally read this as a rap... and now that jason has said why... that explains everything! i love the ... kind of inherent pulse of the poem :); April 11, 2012 at 1:13 PM
rebecca said...: i love this... the poem moves up and down the way i imagine the plane might be dropping and regaining height.; April 11, 2012 at 1:23 PM

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WRITING PROMPTS

Week 4 Uncertainty

Use the phrase, "I Don't Know" as a catalyst for your next poem. You can use it as a theme, as a title, as a first line (or last line). You may not even use the phrase at all and still be writing about it. And yes, Cassidy, you can even say it in French. :) See you Wednesday.

Week 3 Ekphrasis, Art, and Empathy

Pick a visual work of art from the NYU's Art, Literature, and Medicine Database, and reflect, in your poem --What do you see? --What else do you notice? --How does this work make you feel?

Week 2 The Body

Choose a part of the body and describe it.

Describe something being done with or to that part of the body.

Use (and be ready to discuss) simile, metaphor, or other figurative language in your poem.

Week 1 Fever

Think back to your own experience of illness. Recount a particular sickness, accident, surgery, or other anecdote related to your own health. Like Plath, try to describe not what happened, but how it made you feel. Try to write lyrically -- expressing the emotional experience -- rather than literally.

HOW TO READ/COMMENT ON A POEM

I find that reading a poem is like looking at a piece of art, a painting, a sculpture, a movie, or a play. When we read each others' poems we have an opportunity to show appreciation and to help the poem get even better! Try to answer three basic questions, and even if you don't have a lot of experience reading poetry or using any of the lingo, you'll still have much to say.

What do you see?

-- What does the poem look like on the page. What can you say about its structure, form, line lengths?

-- What is the literal meaning of the poem, what is actually happening? How would you say it in your own words?

-- What is the setting of the poem? Where and when?

-- Who is speaking in the poem? What does the speaker want?

What else do you notice?

-- What are the sounds of this poem? Look for lyric devices, such as meter, rhyme, assonance, alliteration, consonance.

-- Look for figuarative language: similes and metaphors, imagery, symbols and allusions. Look up words you don't know or familiar words used in unusual ways.

-- Take longer poems in chunks. Comment on a favorite stanza, line, or word.

-- If there is a part that seems confusing, it's OK to say where you get lost, it may help the poet revise and rework the poem.

-- If there is a part or device that works particularly well, make sure to mention it.

How does it make you feel?

-- Mention how the poem makes you feel. Does it remind you of anything, any time, any place?

-- What is the theme of the poem? Is there a message here?

Always remember to criticize the poem, not the poet.

Have fun, and thank you for sharing your thoughts!

A Turn for the Verse

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

“Tympanic, tym to panic” – Marjan Islam

4 comments:

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