Simon Smythe
Simon Smythe
Jan 22, 2015

Water Me Down

Poem Body

Water me down
I’ve had enough
Try ECT
Or the chemical stuff

Part my hair
Strip my gown
Twist my wrists
And toast the town

String me up
To swing me round
Shape me square
And water me down

Punch a hole
Then stitch it up
Throw a stone
In the beggars cup

Clip my wings
Make me stare
Put a pencil in my mouth
I write on air

When all's laid bare
To the human eye
No help to spy
The well turned lie

Cut news clippings
Rock the boat
Paper rock scissors
The eye or the mote

My heart bled
My fist saw sky
Water me down
And make me shy

About This Poem

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - rough draft

About the Author

Region, Country: New Zealand, NZL

Favorite Poets: Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, Jonny Cash

More from this author

Comments

Barbara Writes

You've done well. My suggestion is that breaks in poetry give readers ability to pause and soak up your meaning. "Water me down" is a good title (a delicious cake) that should stand out and give us something to think about. What do you want us to take away or remember from this lovely piece in the making?
It's like I swallowed down a delicious cake whole all at once without stopping to taste it. The title "water me down" is like the sugar that gives it taste, but is hard to describe bc the tastebuds didn't get an opportunity taste or meditate on it. Keep writing.

judyanne

I really like this. Great rhythm and rhyme, up to the last third.

Just imo, it seems to loose the impetus after 'put a pencil in my mouth'.
I think if you made a break before it, to make the reader pause, and also one after 'cut news clippings', the new rhythm and rhyme schemes would be more quickly adjusted to

Just to my ear, also, it reads better if you give the word 'pressure' its own line:
'rock the boat
paper rock scissors
pressure
on the throat...'

I think the last line not only works, it makes the poem,

nice to meet you
love judy
xxx

weirdelf

This made my heart bleed.
It took me unwillingly to the mental ward where a friend of mine was incarcerated recently.

As Judy said, that last line is a stroke of brilliance.