Figure Poem "Not Nothingness"
I did this for my poetry class (a class I took only for the sake of getting a writing minor). I felt that this was my strongest peace, so I figured I'd put it out there.
The little description below is what the assignment was.
Figure: Write a poem about a subject that is worth writing about, but is mired in cliché, like love or virtue or friendship. Reach for wild, bizarre, improbable metaphors to give your poem freshness, energy and to help us see something new.
Not Nothingness
My mind is all over the place
Cannot be settled
Whenever the concept
Of the words’ purpose
Comes into view,
An indoor whirlwind
Grabs everything and will not end.
I try to fathom
This seems so impossible
Yet it simply is.
At first one might see
An impenetrable fortress
Made of every element
Towering towards the farthest star
Where the doors are always open
To share its timeless wisdom.
More faithful than most friends,
Some call reading these words
An action of nothingness.
I call it interacting
Once viewed as simple literature
I now view it as life itself.
With these ideas
Written in stone with fire.
*****
"Critical Judgment" Short Story
I wrote this for my writing fiction class during junior year (at college). The story was inspired loosely on the story behind "Manos: The Hands of Fate." I would later take this story and make a video loosely based on it and I would like to do a full length screenplay about the same idea. So this idea has gone through a lot of variations in different formats.
CRITICAL JUDGMENT
"Where the hell is Abigail?” Robert Stevens shouted to the rest of the cast and crew backstage. “She was supposed to be here a hour ago for makeup.”
“I don’t know.” Joel Pierce said as he searched around frantically through the small group of supporting cast and huge mass of crewmembers. “I’m starting to get a little worried myself.”
Robert and Joel were the writing, producing and directing team behind the original play “Strangers We Know” about a young woman coping with the secret of her husband’s double life. The play had been produced literally on a bet. Robert and Joel were not actual play producers. They were simply critics that had gotten into an argument with the director to the last play they had reviewed. Fact of the matter was Robert and Joel had a reputation of being the two most hated critics in Boston
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It had happened in a bar called “The Fast Lane” the night after opening night. Robert and Joel had gone to this same bar for the last ten years to celebrate after every paycheck they received. They first met in college when they were twenty. Now they were in their late thirties with wives and kids and it was really only this routine that had been left over from their college days. This habit had come to be called “fort night”. Rather odd tradition, but a tradition nonetheless.
Luck would have it, one night when the bar was freakishly empty, Leafier had happened to be socializing with some friends from out of town at the same bar. Noticing the two “connoisseurs of the arts”, he felt he would let his opinion be told.
“So I see you two did not enjoy the work I did the other night”, Leafier said with a thick French accent as he confronted the two.
“And what exactly would you be referring to?” Robert asked not know who Leafier even was.
“My one-man play that premiered last night. I am the director. ”
“Oh…hey…yeah, about that…how’s it going?” Joel asked not all that sure what to say.
Robert and Joel had always hid behind their articles, saying whatever harsh thing came to mind. In a way made them feel tough and superior to have some limited power to say whatever they wanted about somebody and their work. This was the first time anyone from any of the plays they had reviewed had ever come up and actually tried to talk to then. Frankly, they didn’t like it. Both men were starting to sweat a bit from being uncomfortable. They had no idea if this French guy was capable of anything. It was already gutsy to be talking to them in the first place.
“I was only wanting to know why it is that you look upon it with such negativity? You referred to it as “the plunder of the year”.” Leafier went on.
Robert and Joel had to do everything they could to keep themselves from laughing. What this guys serious? Talking in the way he was.
“We weren’t that hard on it” Robert said.
“Everyone has down points in their careers, who cares?” Joel said.
“Look, sorry if we offended you, but we didn’t feel that it was a successful show, that’s all.” Robert said.
“I put my heart and soul into that show,” Leafier said defensively.
“We didn’t get that vibe,” said Joel.
“How would you ever know about what I was trying to do and say with that play? All your job consists of is taking apart something you don’t fully understand.”
“Hey, we have to sit through what you do for a living, and we’re not as enthused over it either,” Robert said.
“You could never do what I do.”
“No offense, but I bet we could” Joel said.
“That should be it then. A bet!”
“What?” Robert and Joel said at the same time.
“I bet you two as a collaboration could not put on a successful play, that would be well received with only the current knowledge you have on story structure.”
“We know how story structure works,” Robert said. “But do you have experience?”
Both Robert and Joel fell silent over that comment. They both looked at each other with expression that both seemed to ask “should we go for it?”
“So it would have to be an original play?” Joel asked.
“Of course it would have to be an original play. Written, produced and directed by you two” Leafier said starting to get aggravated with the two.
“What’s the deadline?” asked Robert.
“Oh lets say a year from tonight. And the bet itself should be for five thousand. Each.” Leafier said with enthusiasm growing.
“Do you think we could handle that?” Joel asked Robert.
“Sure, I don’t see why not. Lets go for it.”
They all shook on it and everything was set.
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Here the big day was and here was Robert and Joel in the mess they were in now with no leading lady. One of the stagehands came up to the two of them and gave them a ten-minute warning. The cast members were getting to character by going over some last minute rehearsal. Crew members were still getting everything into place where it needed to be. The set mostly consisted of a two half section on the stage. One half for the fictional couple’s living room, the other for their bedroom. The story was very low-key and didn’t require any real big set changes or a huge supporting cast. However, given Robert and Joel’s self-boasting attitudes, and the fact that this play was to be the highlight in the cultural community, they wanted everything to be as realistic looking as possible. This required a lot of detail, and a lot more work for the crew. Even down to the last minute, crewmembers were still putting dressing on the sets and not to mention getting the lighting and sound systems set up. It was chaotic and Robert and Joel were starting to feel the pressure.
“Seriously Abigail needs to be here, like now!” Robert said wiping his brow.
“You know it was your idea to hire her,” Joel commented.
“If it were up to you we would have went with that no talent burnet who looked like she could have had autism or something.”
“Hey, she looked the part, and yes Abigail might have been more talented, but look where we are now. Do we have some sort of plan B? Just in case.”
“You mean like an understudy? Robert snapped back. “Yeah, um, remember when we talked to them about it, but they didn’t want any because their egos are too damn big.”
“It is always the egos that are the problems,” Leafier said letting his presents be known. Due to all the mayhem, it was unbeknownst to Robert and Joel that Leafier had shown up to see how the two were coming along with their little project.
“Hey how did you end up back here?” Robert said surprised and irritated to see the one who got them in this situation.
“Well, they do know me here,” Leafier responded with a smart-ass smile.
“Sounds like you are having trouble with the woman you hired to be your leading lady.”
“Yeah, and no offense, but you’re not helping,” Robert barked back.
“Perhaps no. But what would have helped would have been to look around when casting and not to simply go with the biggest name who could get,” Leafier was now adding insult to injury.
“What are we going to do, if she doesn’t show?” Robert asked turning his attention back to Joel.
“Well, what about one of the supporting cast members?” Joel suggested. “That’s the thing though, they’re the supporting cast. Besides none of them would know the lines anyways.”
Finally, almost like on cue, Abigail Burns arrived backstage. Robert and Joel both let out a sigh of relief, until they noticed that she had a stressed out, panicked expression on her face. As she approached them, she pulled out a small thin object out of her purse, a pregnancy test. She held it out right in front of their noises.
“Look at what that says,” she said to the both of them. There was a little plus sign in the result area.
“I don’t know what the direction say. I don’t know what that means,” Robert said.
“Are you seriously waving around something in front of us that you pissed on?” Joel said completely missing the point as to what Abigail was trying to get at.
“The plus means positive. I’m pregnant,” she said on the verge of tears, whereas Leafier was on the verge of laughter.
“That’s nice, congratulations. Now you’re running late, so we’re going to have to get you back in make up and wardrobe,” Robert instructed.
“Oh, I can’t go out on there,” Abigail protested.
“Of course you can, you’re not that late,” Robert replied.
“Didn’t you hear me? I’m pregnant.”
“So you’re not going to show, what does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m pregnant…what part of that are you not understanding?”
“I see she’s one of those melodramatic types,” Leafier whispered to Robert.
“You can’t go on because of that? Are you planning on having it right now or something?” Robert said to Abigail, ignoring the mocking from Leafier.
“I’m being serious. I can’t do this. I got too much other stuff on my mind right now. I’m going to have to see a doctor or something.”
“Right now? At this hour? Abigail, you’re being unreasonable.”
“Now you’re being unreasonable to a new first time mother,” Abigail said as she sat down on a nearby crate.
“Oh my God, she’s completely bat shit!” Robert said turning towards Joel.
“I’ll have to talk to a doctor, hunt down the father, tell my moth- Oh my God! My mother! What am I going to tell my mother?” she began crying. Joel stepped forward to try and take control of the situation. “Alright it is clear that you’re a little emotional and over stressed. So I guess if you feel that you’re in no
condition to go on…”
Right then a stagehand walked by and couldn’t help but over hear Joel’s choice of words. “Yeah, you what to talk about in no condition to go on,” he said as he pointed to Mark Cameron, the actor who was playing Abigail’s husband, walking around tipsy around the sets, which were still being set up.
“Oh boy! And you’re leading man is drunk as well!” Leafier said.
“Oh come on Mark, you only been here about an hour,” Joel then turned back to Robert, “how did he manage to get drunk in that amount of time?”
“I guess a lot could happen within a hour,” Robert said as he gestured towards Abigail while she wasn’t looking.
Another stagehand gave them a curtain time warning, this time only five minutes. It was at this time that Mark in all his blind drunken wisdom decided to take part in the set decorating.
“Hey guys…I’ll…help too,” Mark said slurring his words.
He made his way over to one of the crewmembers on a latter who was hanging a decorative light for the living room set. Stumbling, Mark hit the latter, hard, causing it and the crewmember to fall over with it. As luck would have it the latter landed right on the glass coffee table prop that was set out in the middle of the stage. This didn’t simply shatter the glass, it also caused the table to break in half and send one part flying into the recliner that had been set up. This caused the back of the recliner to fall back and break in a way so that it wasn’t able to push back up right. Needless to say, the set did not look good anymore. Crew and stagehands rushed over in a mad dash to help up Mark and the fallen crewmember. They also made an attempt to clean things up.
“Well it looks like you two have enough to worry about without little ole me here. I think I’d better get to my seat, with a crowed ” Leafier said as he left the two with all their problems.
“I’m starting to think we’re going to have to count our losses and cancel the show,” Joel said with a heavy sigh.
“What? Do you want to lose this bet?” Robert said.
“I think we’ve basically lost it. We got a drunken husband who now ruined part of the set, and a melodramatic single mother for a leading lady. Without any understudies, what else can we do?” Joel said losing his enthusiasm as he went.
“You’re the one who is always waiting to fold under pressure. You know we know the lines. After all we did write them,” Robert pointed out.
“Yeah, but for one we don’t act and two we’re both men. And not the mention the damage to the set!”
“For the set, we’ll work around it, you said you love challenges. As for the gender issue - you know in Shakespeare’s day…”
“I know what you’re going to say, but that doesn’t mean that that’s going to happen here.”
“I don’t see why not. I think you could pull it off.”
“Oh, I see how it’s going to be, I have to be the one who plays “Nancy” then. Surprise, surprise.”
“Well clearly you’re more qualified.” Robert did have a point. Joel was shorter and slimmer than he was and could be a more convincing female figure.
“Forget it I’m not doing drag.”
“Oh don’t think I haven’t forgotten that Halloween sophomore year of college Joel-phine.”
“You said that that would never come up again.”
“I lied. So are we going to go through with this or not?” Joel stood there thinking about for a second or two. “I swear if anyone figures out that it’s me out there, it will be your ass on a plank.”
“Alright, that’s the spirit, now let’s hurry and gear up.” Robert turned back to address Abigail. “ Okay, if you wish, you can go home.”
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The curtain went up with only a few minuets delay. The makeup and wardrobechange had to be rushed, so the cloths barley fit and the makeup did nothing to make Joel look like a woman. The remains of the coffee table had been removed, but the recliner and some smaller peaces of debris remained. Not to mention some damaged the latter had cause to the backdrop. So the simple appearance of the play had hard to look at. As for the acting, Roberts had been right about them knowing to lines from writing them, however they were not actors. This was very obvious in their performances. They were unable to get the timing or spacing of their lines, because they were basically telling the lines and nothing else. They tried to have some emotion, but being unaware as to show it, it was very unclear what they were supposed to be felling. The only clear emotion they were able to show was stress and frustration due to the events leading up to this point. The supporting actors where not into it either. Since the leading cast had been done away with and the damage to set, they had basically counted their loses over the doomed production and only did their roles half heartedly. At one point during a crucial moment during the climax when Joel’s wife character asked one of the supporting characters what should be done to help her husband, the actor broke down and declared, “Who gives a shit?”
After the accident with Mark, the crew had to do some quick last minute cleanup. This resulted in some of the set and props being moved around. Unaware of this Robert and Joel had a hell of a time trying to find anything when it called for them to pick up or interact with. Particularly worst, when Joel’s character needed to get something out of her purse. It took him a solid three minutes to find the prop. This felt like an eternity for him
and the audience.
Things only got worst when Mark interfered with the curtain. After the accident, he was taken to his changing room to lye on the couch for a little while. So he was never properly escorted out of the building. After he felt he was done “relaxing” he proceeded to make his way to the stage, believing that he still had yet to go on later in the night. “I’m the star here…I have every right to open the curtain at the beginning” he told the stagehand who was actually responsible for the curtain as he fought over the ropes to the pulley. Unfortunately Mark won the struggle but punching the stagehand in the jaw. Not sure which way to pull the rope, he pulled both ways making the curtain sway back and forth in front of the stage. This went on for several second before anyone was able to pull Mark away.
The papers would later go on to say that they “weren’t sure if the play was supposed to be a satire or if it was really that bad.” Very ironic that the two harshest critics in town would end up reseaving the harshest review for that year.
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Afterwards Robert and Joel went to their usual at “The Fast Lane”. Luckily the bar was pretty much empty again, so there probably wouldn’t be anyone there to recognize them after the train wreck. Nobody that is except for Leafier, who was at the bar waiting for them.
“Well it appears you too were able to pull off the play, however whether or not it was successful, well, the jury still out on that one,” Leafier said as Robert and Joel pulled up a seat next to him.
“Do you want the money now or could we be able to give it to you later?” Joel asked.
“I’ve decided to change the rules a little bit. Since you two put on the play plain and simple, I’m going to say you won.”
“So does that mean that you have to pay us?” Robert asked hopefully.
“No. I’m not going to do that either. But now you understand the art better than before, which is all I really wanted in the first place.”
“I think we can live with that,” said Joel.
“Just out of curiosity. This whole thing started when you said that we didn’t understand the meaning and workings to your play. So what was it all about?” Robert asked Leafier.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Sometimes the only who fully understands the meaning of a story is the one who is telling it.” Leafier said giving the two a wink as he exited to bar.
