Pray to Understand the Madness
I came up with the idea of doing poems instead of the short story
because I write concisely and I do not think I am that creative with any other
writing then poetry. My 3 poems, Gretel, No Hansel, I am not Little Red
Riding Hood, and the Plain One Unlocks Love, are all poems that I feel very
deeply about. The poems are either examples of my own experience or a subject
that I feel needs more attention in today’s society.
Gretel, No Hansel, is the first one I wrote and it came along so easily because how personal this is to me. Plus, the original short story is tied for one of my favorite fairy tales. In the first few drafts of this poem, I allowed interpretation for where Hansel was or if he even existed because it was a door I was not comfortable opening. After revision with my teacher, the amazing Dr. Lechler, I realized how crucial Hansel was to my poem. I had to tell myself that it was time to talk and/or write about it. I have no regrets with adding Hansel, and I feel like adding him added a whole other level of emotion that I could not capture without him.
I am all about survival in this world and doing what is necessary for survival. The instincts of endurance in these two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, in the original Grimms tale are so powerful. I have always thought that the closeness of siblings comes from the battles they have to grow up through together; there is some truth in that. I have 4 siblings but Blake, referred to as Hansel in my poem, is the closest sibling I have due to the horrific circumstances we grew up in together. Nobody understands your family, your lifestyle, or your household like your siblings do. The power of the bond between siblings, raised together, is a bond that you can share with no other person on this planet. Therefore in, Gretel, No Hansel, I really try to capture the struggle and the losses that I shared with my brother as a child and into adulthood.
Also in, Gretel, No Hansel, I try to make apparent the theme of parenthood. After reading my poem you will see that I am obviously not a believer in unconditional love just because a human gave birth to you. All kinds of things in this world change people; money, drugs, greed, sex. Nobody can understand losing a parent mentally and emotionally unless you go through it. I am not cold hearted to the people who lose their mother and fathers at a young age, but what they have to understand is that their parent did not choose to leave them. When a parent chooses to leave or forget you, it takes something out of a person that cannot be described.
So in, Gretel, No Hansel, I would like you to take things literally—if you wish. Try to understand the battles for the siblings in the original Grimm’s tale, are battles on a much wider spectrum as well.
I choose the image that goes with, Gretel, No Hansel, because I think it represents the kind of dark mystery about my capability of returning home to my roots.
Little Red Riding Hood is a complete 360 from Gretel, No Hansel, because it is not something of my own personal experience. This poem is something that I feel is a growing problem in today’s world. This problem has become so common that it is often overlooked. I cannot begin to express what pregnant teenage girls without the baby’s father must go through. All I know is that this topic infuriates me. I have always had the motto that if you are not ready to be a parent then you are not ready to have sex. Therefore, with my strong opinions on this matter, this poem was able to flow through my fingers fast.
Revising it was a task, but my creative group did help me. They made me realize that from the readers’ standpoint I left a lot of aspects of the poem with no answer. It is okay to show a little mystery, but I was not solving anything in the poem before the revision. Now I feel like it has just the right amount of mystery.
Also, the first draft of this poem quoted “… I do not listen to momma, I am not Little Red Riding Hood.” Upon closer examination into lines in the latter part of the poem, I felt grandma would fit better. Plus my grandmother is someone I have the utmost respect for and if she tells me I should not do something, then there is a legitimate reason behind it. I just wanted to clear that up so there is no confusion because in the original Grimm’s tale, Little Red Riding Hood is not listening to her mother and her grandmother is just an innocent bystander.
The image that goes with this poem, I am not Little Red Riding Hood, means a lot more to me than any of the other images. The artist of this image is Deja Mays, who I have known since high school and someone that I have grown into an adult with. It is also ironic that I asked her to do a drawing for me for this poem because we both feel so strongly about this matter that my poem addresses.
In my last poem, The Plain One Unlocks Love, I express a type of poetry that really came from my heart. This poem came to me in a time of despair when everything that could go wrong went wrong. After a week of dealing with death in my family, bad health news for other family members, and ending a relationship with the first person I have ever allowed myself to open up around; I came home that weekend and wrote this poem. With that being said, the poem is a little everywhere when it comes to structure. I think that a little piece of all the trials, that were going on in this time, can be reflected somewhere in this poem.
This poem needed the most revision because it had too much mystery to be solved and I did not allow the reader much of a chance to understand it. I tried to focus on the theme of love as a whole. I have never experienced the type of love that is in fairy tales but I try to stay open to the possibility. The thing is, a lot of the love couples are in these days are always dazzled up. As for an individual like myself, I have never wanted a miracle love. I have always prided myself on being happy with the little things in life. So with this poem, I literally mean what the title says. The plain Jane type of love really unlocks the type of love that conquers all in my opinion.
I also use my grandmother’s voice in this poem because she is the voice I hear in my head a lot of times when I go to make a decision. My grandmother has led a simple life with my grandfather and their love is so pure. It is so plain. The example of their love is what I am trying to get across in this poem. This sense of having someone that tries to love you as much as Jesus does, hence the line, “…this love is something they pave golden streets for.”
I understand that this poem can be confusing and my reflection on it probably only confuses it even more. I just cannot fathom the words to express all the emotions that went into this poem. There are so many key elements that I want to leave it up to the readers’ interpretation, and I can only hope it touches someone.
As if I have not confused you enough, the image I have chosen to go with, The Plain One Unlocks Love, is my way of showing how true love will feel like freedom. In my last relationship I felt close to him but also trapped into just being with him. So this image is also up for interpretation on how you think it should fit into this poem.
In conclusion, the poems are really something that I am glad I am sharing. I hope they truly reach out and touch the reader and can be used to make one’s life a little easier living. Try and take everything I write literally, there is always some truth behind even fairy tale elements. Even from the first image on the page in the header, take literally and read into it. I choose it based of my favorite poet, Robert Frost, and a famous line from his poem that I have prided myself for living by and that is, “… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” God bless.
Heather M Bradley
Gretel, No Hansel, is the first one I wrote and it came along so easily because how personal this is to me. Plus, the original short story is tied for one of my favorite fairy tales. In the first few drafts of this poem, I allowed interpretation for where Hansel was or if he even existed because it was a door I was not comfortable opening. After revision with my teacher, the amazing Dr. Lechler, I realized how crucial Hansel was to my poem. I had to tell myself that it was time to talk and/or write about it. I have no regrets with adding Hansel, and I feel like adding him added a whole other level of emotion that I could not capture without him.
I am all about survival in this world and doing what is necessary for survival. The instincts of endurance in these two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, in the original Grimms tale are so powerful. I have always thought that the closeness of siblings comes from the battles they have to grow up through together; there is some truth in that. I have 4 siblings but Blake, referred to as Hansel in my poem, is the closest sibling I have due to the horrific circumstances we grew up in together. Nobody understands your family, your lifestyle, or your household like your siblings do. The power of the bond between siblings, raised together, is a bond that you can share with no other person on this planet. Therefore in, Gretel, No Hansel, I really try to capture the struggle and the losses that I shared with my brother as a child and into adulthood.
Also in, Gretel, No Hansel, I try to make apparent the theme of parenthood. After reading my poem you will see that I am obviously not a believer in unconditional love just because a human gave birth to you. All kinds of things in this world change people; money, drugs, greed, sex. Nobody can understand losing a parent mentally and emotionally unless you go through it. I am not cold hearted to the people who lose their mother and fathers at a young age, but what they have to understand is that their parent did not choose to leave them. When a parent chooses to leave or forget you, it takes something out of a person that cannot be described.
So in, Gretel, No Hansel, I would like you to take things literally—if you wish. Try to understand the battles for the siblings in the original Grimm’s tale, are battles on a much wider spectrum as well.
I choose the image that goes with, Gretel, No Hansel, because I think it represents the kind of dark mystery about my capability of returning home to my roots.
Little Red Riding Hood is a complete 360 from Gretel, No Hansel, because it is not something of my own personal experience. This poem is something that I feel is a growing problem in today’s world. This problem has become so common that it is often overlooked. I cannot begin to express what pregnant teenage girls without the baby’s father must go through. All I know is that this topic infuriates me. I have always had the motto that if you are not ready to be a parent then you are not ready to have sex. Therefore, with my strong opinions on this matter, this poem was able to flow through my fingers fast.
Revising it was a task, but my creative group did help me. They made me realize that from the readers’ standpoint I left a lot of aspects of the poem with no answer. It is okay to show a little mystery, but I was not solving anything in the poem before the revision. Now I feel like it has just the right amount of mystery.
Also, the first draft of this poem quoted “… I do not listen to momma, I am not Little Red Riding Hood.” Upon closer examination into lines in the latter part of the poem, I felt grandma would fit better. Plus my grandmother is someone I have the utmost respect for and if she tells me I should not do something, then there is a legitimate reason behind it. I just wanted to clear that up so there is no confusion because in the original Grimm’s tale, Little Red Riding Hood is not listening to her mother and her grandmother is just an innocent bystander.
The image that goes with this poem, I am not Little Red Riding Hood, means a lot more to me than any of the other images. The artist of this image is Deja Mays, who I have known since high school and someone that I have grown into an adult with. It is also ironic that I asked her to do a drawing for me for this poem because we both feel so strongly about this matter that my poem addresses.
In my last poem, The Plain One Unlocks Love, I express a type of poetry that really came from my heart. This poem came to me in a time of despair when everything that could go wrong went wrong. After a week of dealing with death in my family, bad health news for other family members, and ending a relationship with the first person I have ever allowed myself to open up around; I came home that weekend and wrote this poem. With that being said, the poem is a little everywhere when it comes to structure. I think that a little piece of all the trials, that were going on in this time, can be reflected somewhere in this poem.
This poem needed the most revision because it had too much mystery to be solved and I did not allow the reader much of a chance to understand it. I tried to focus on the theme of love as a whole. I have never experienced the type of love that is in fairy tales but I try to stay open to the possibility. The thing is, a lot of the love couples are in these days are always dazzled up. As for an individual like myself, I have never wanted a miracle love. I have always prided myself on being happy with the little things in life. So with this poem, I literally mean what the title says. The plain Jane type of love really unlocks the type of love that conquers all in my opinion.
I also use my grandmother’s voice in this poem because she is the voice I hear in my head a lot of times when I go to make a decision. My grandmother has led a simple life with my grandfather and their love is so pure. It is so plain. The example of their love is what I am trying to get across in this poem. This sense of having someone that tries to love you as much as Jesus does, hence the line, “…this love is something they pave golden streets for.”
I understand that this poem can be confusing and my reflection on it probably only confuses it even more. I just cannot fathom the words to express all the emotions that went into this poem. There are so many key elements that I want to leave it up to the readers’ interpretation, and I can only hope it touches someone.
As if I have not confused you enough, the image I have chosen to go with, The Plain One Unlocks Love, is my way of showing how true love will feel like freedom. In my last relationship I felt close to him but also trapped into just being with him. So this image is also up for interpretation on how you think it should fit into this poem.
In conclusion, the poems are really something that I am glad I am sharing. I hope they truly reach out and touch the reader and can be used to make one’s life a little easier living. Try and take everything I write literally, there is always some truth behind even fairy tale elements. Even from the first image on the page in the header, take literally and read into it. I choose it based of my favorite poet, Robert Frost, and a famous line from his poem that I have prided myself for living by and that is, “… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” God bless.
Heather M Bradley