Analysis of Writing on the Walls

About this poem

Brief Exegesis Writing on the Walls This poem is about several ideas and concepts that run throughal, including form and message. The form follows some basic loose “rules of order” which are: first word or root word of each “pair of lines” and last word are switched from the first line to the second line. “Seething ole Dick limply run”, as a first line would require the second line to reverse that beginning-ending order. “Running Jane couldn’t foresee”. Thus message becomes messengers, sooth soothsaying, everywhere whereupon, cost accosting, connections connecting, sooth soothsaid, stone Stonehenge. However, what ought to be apparent is that the message ending a preceding line must begin the second line as a word as approximate as possible in beginning pronunciation such as messengers, while massages would not fit. EveryWHERE as an ending word can become WHEREupon or Wherever, etc., as long as it starts with the WEAR OR WARE OR WHERE pronunciation. The only derivation allowed is the usage of a “prefix” such as in ac-cost-ing so that it does not detract from the root pronunciation. Fore-sooth-ing would also fit for sooth preceding, but is generally not quite as fit as soothsaying. This is an example of practicing “PLAY” with writing poetry, as in the archetypal psychological usage of PLAY advanced by James Hillman and David Miller. I am not going to state the glaringly obvious messages, so as not to insult the reader. more »