A poem describing human behavior
This is a poem that includes some words describing human and social phenomenons. Here is the description of the words
Opia - the intense discomfort in sustained eye contact, triggers the same neuropathways as physical touch, feels invasive
Sonder - the realization that every person is their own unique being with their own complex life
Chrysalism - feeling calm when you’re sheltered from ex. A storm, evolutionary response
L’appel du vide - your brain telling you to do something dangerous or deadly even though you really want to do the opposite, your brain does this to terrify you into backing up and NOT put yourself in a situation where you COULD do it.
Jauska - having arguments alone in your head where you destroy your opponent and win the argument. There are arguments that it’s preparing you for the actual conversation, but the conversation has either already happened or it will never happen
Semantic satiation - when you say a word enough times that it loses meaning
Kenopsia - the eerie or unsettling feeling you get when a space made for a lot of people is empty
Anecdoche - a conversation where nobody is listening, competing for attention and thinking on what you should say about yourself instead of listening to other people.
Here is my poem:
Title: What lies between us
You look at me, both agree,
To disagree to some degree.
I stare right through,
pettiness we outgrew,
But I’ve looked at you for too long,
My eyes don’t know where they belong
Opia sets its claws in my neck,
This conversation I tried to bedeck.
Sonder, existence is mutual,
Feeling my thoughts unusual,
Everyone is their own hero,
Bringing myself to zero,
So I can understand complexity,
And watch the immensity,
Of others’ choices
To hear each person's inner voices
We are watching each other talk,
But no matter how we bark,
The other is in their own thoughts,
other’s words aren’t coming across,
Anecdouche keeps us in a loop,
No matter how many in a group,
We all want to talk up ourselves,
While others feelings are on a shelf
I keep listening to words you speak,
But what you speak of seems bleak,
speaking to the point of semantic satiation,
I see that you’re working at ingratiation,
Words lose all their meaning,
Trying not to be overweening,
My closet I will be cleaning,
The words you spoke, so demeaning.
I try my best to listen and accept,
But I seem to be frighteningly inept,
The word vomit and the fidgeting,
Wronged by my faults unlimiting,
The feeling of monachopsis,
No way I can explain my synopsis,
I don’t fit in, never will,
I always have my guts to spill.
It was a while since we met,
But I always play russian roulette,
In my head alone at night,
Imagining I would win the fight,
My mind turns to jauska,
Instead of dreaming of Majorca
I’m stuck in an imagination,
Where I can’t find a real conversation.
I walk away to ease my mind,
Without a map I’m walking blind,
I cross a typically crowded space,
But the people had been replaced,
Kenopsia overtook my nerves,
Am I the only one who observes?
Walking these empty halls,
My grip on reality falls.
The nature of the world,
survive from what you’ve learned,
Don’t touch the fire, it’s hot,
But it’s like your brain forgot,
L’appel du vide takes control,
The world swallows me whole,
Your nerves tell you to be destructive,
While your brain argues to make it productive
But in the end of the day I am home,
Looking at myself in the chrome,
Mirror learning to find comfort in who I am,
Learning to love myself beyond the gram,
Watching the world from the shelter of my walls,
Chrysalism in its primal form,
Finding comforting shelter from the storm,
Yet sometimes confronting so I transform.
@Alexija
I admire you for making this poem Alexija.. it felt like to me like it was about internal struggles we do battle with regularly.. I think this poem has something for everybody to latch onto and embrace. It exudes skill and fine textures to me, I'll be thinking about it for a few days...
very memorable! 🌲