far from perfect
“Sometimes I think I was born backwards.
You know, come out my mum the wrong way.”
Who is Effy Stonem? A
girl who rarely smiles, let alone
speaks
She’s mysterious, misunderstood
messy
A toxic girlfriend
and even worse
friend
Her semi-gothic looks, mirror
Tracy Freeland from “Thirteen,”
Her reckless actions, follow
those of Alaska from “Looking for Alaska.”
If you really want to understand
Her
simply listen
to Lana Del Rey’s “Carmen”
Because underneath her, classic
smokey eye
icy exterior
is a teenage girl who
battles with herself
her mental health, dealing
with it
the best way she can
Effy’s character became something
many teens related to
at the time
adolescent battling a mental, disorder
and not always
using the best tools
She was
far from perfect
She was
still loved, if not, adored
She was
the, “It Girl”
Found Poem / From: Covington, Anne Harper. “Grunge and Gothic: The Art of Embodying Effy Stonem”. Strike Magazine. https://www.strikemagazines.com/blog-2-1/grunge-and-gothic-the-art-of-embodying-effy-stonem
Any feedback on this poem and what could strengthen it is appreciated!
2 thoughts on "far from perfect"
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Wrote out a larger reply that was deleted with my phone dying not once but twice (as I was copy pasting to LexPoMo) so here’s my lazy answer:
Do found poems need any editing? Really? They do benefit from 4-5 rounds of revision like any other work even if losing the spirit of “being found” in the traditional sense. Don’t let rigid thinking temper your creativity.
I understood half the pop culture references but these are risky and may distract a reader who doesn’t know and doesn’t care to look it up. Ask yourself why did I include this for every line/word and consider several potential line breaks per line in a given poem.
Most importantly, a poem is a reflection of you. You decide its strength the moment you chose whether or not you write your truth.
I enjoyed reading this…I felt like it was a portrait being presented and sometimes painted. I liked the words that enabled me to visualize–like “smokey eye icy exterior ”
The line ” She was far from perfect” felt connected to the line “she was the It girl” and that pulled it all together for me, because despite any flaws–The “It Girl” can do no wrong! I thought that was nicely done. Thanks for your poem.