Table Etiquette

[AlienFlower]

 

 

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Table Etiquette

 

It’s easy to think you’re different, immune, 

but with only a little genealogy, analyzing your line, 

 

you can trace yourself back to The Devolving. The Jumpstart 

preceded it—I know, too remote, it being 

so uncontrolled and all—but in the case of Devolving, 

 

names have passed down. Ask yourself, why are you

Ruellia?[1]. There are rules we adhere to without asking 

 

why. The ancients so feared flora world-wide 

that they urbanized. Super civilized. Lawmakers could keep them 

safe anywhere, but maddeningly, some defied. Nine-greats 

 

Aunt Forsythia wouldn’t take elbows off the table. Solve this one:

why couldn’t Never-Die[2] have just kept his hands in his lap

instead of demanding at table a floral armchair with padding?

 

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1 Mexican petunia, Ruellia simplex
2  Bryophyllum pinnatum (a succulent)

[TrevorConway]

Hi Jackie,

I didn't really engage with this until near the end. I think it's because the tone felt too prosaic. I'd suggest starting with later parts, where it's more interesting, and working back. For example:

Table Etiquette

Aunt Forsythia wouldn’t take elbows off the table.
Solve this one:
why couldn’t Never-Die[2] have just kept his hands in his lap
instead of demanding at table a floral armchair with padding?

In the case of devolving, 
names have passed down.
Ask yourself, why are you Ruellia?[1].
There are rules we adhere to without asking why.

The ancients so feared flora  
that they urbanized.
Lawmakers could keep them safe anywhere,
but maddeningly, some defied. 
 
It’s easy to think you’re different, immune, 
but with only a little genealogy, analyzing your line, 
 you can trace yourself back.
The Jumpstart preceded it—
I know, too remote,
it being so uncontrolled and all.
 
Hope you get something from this.

All the best,

Trev
 

[AlienFlower]

Trevor, thanks for your input. I like tossing poems into the air and watching how the stanzas land. You never know what you'll discover.

Jackie

[indar]

Hi Jackie,

I liked Trevor's suggestion--and your answer. I tend to get rigid about the way I've ordered a poem and this thread is good reminder to me to loosen up. 

I love these lines:

The ancients so feared flora  
that they urbanized.

I once wrote a poem in the voice of one who is rather paranoid about trees standing around and especially whole forests of them, so the lines resonate with me. I also relate this stanza to the human endeavor of classifying and naming as a way of controlling. I can't say I understand this piece, but I do get a sense that the human need to control is an underlying theme. It's an intriguing write and I will continue to study it.