"Demons Within"
Have you ever felt like the walls are closing in
And that narrow passageway continues to grow thin?
I can feel these walls pushing, choking my veins
And squeezing out the life in me, leaving me deranged
I can make these walls crumble like an empire
That has been set ablaze through flare and fire
And every burn I make, I can see a demon
Fly out of my skin the more the burn is deepened
These four walls, four corners, and a floor
Captivate all I see and still furthermore
Within these walls I am my own enemy to my skin
When everything hurts; my horrors lay within
I can take myself and from the beginning
I could break myself while I am grinning
Then I rebuild sometimes over and over
This process seems to have no closure
Because I am my own victim to myself
I alone am to blame and no one else
Problems don't exist except the ones I create
Torturing me endlessly but still at any rate
I develop scenarios that aren't really there
Worst case scares that tear out my hair
Then I calm myself to calm the demon instead
Who are these strangers living in my head?
With myself I am always in constant battle
My emotions they shake, wiggle, and rattle
My bones, my body, my heart may be pure
But my brain and its nodes are itching for a cure
My theories, my views, my convictions
My notions, my feelings, my addictions
Everything I learn; everything I see
I am the only one who can destroy me
My hopes, my dreams, my beliefs
My sins, my woes, my grief
Everything I know; everything I believe
I am the only one who can destroy me
Firstly, I think that you are limited by the rhyme you seem to force yourself to keep to. I think you need to learn that not all poetry has to rhyme, but that the flow is the thing that matters. To me, poetry is like Jazz: it breaks all of the rules other types of composition created. That can mean anything from breaking sentence structure to eliminating punctuation. Choose wisely, but make sure that the flow of original thoughts coming from your head is never allowed to be limited.
Secondly, when you do rhyme, because some poetry just has to rhyme, you should be increasingly imaginative with it. Also, don't let anything stand in the way of the flow and rhythm of the composition. I'm not well practised with writing poetry, but I write and play music and I feel poems, especially the beat of the words. Keep the rhythm going. Even sing it, or chant it, just to get the flow of the words right. Because, in some places here, you've seemed to lose the flow a bit just to make it rhyme.
Punctuation. Is. A. Fantastic. Tool. To. Use. I noticed that you were sparing on the punctuation, but I think that this only added to this poem, given the style of this type. However, use a couple of full stops. For me, seeing as I follow punctuation like a roadmap, not seeing a single full stop was like racing uncontrollably towards the brink of certain destruction. Full stops slow down the writing heaps, and you seem like you need to slam on the brakes every so often. Just a suggestion, so please don't take this the wrong way.
Content was brilliant. You've captured your thoughts clearly, and aside from the limitations and barriers you put around yourself, it was unequivocally amazing.
Just one last thought: I think that whenever we see the thoughts of others, we see what we wish to see. Whether it is drawn, written, or otherwise created, we will only see what we want to see, unless we can push down the barriers separating ourselves from the narrator/author, and communicate on an emotional level with them. You have this ability to communicate at this level, and I can draw so many parallels from this work of art, not only from my life, but from the lives of many of my friends. Not everyone has that talent.
Write from your heart.
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