And Now Presenting PART TWO of Poetry Slam

Ahh, finally I got another work of poetry finalized for my portfolio. Though the last poem 'Gone' still has some unfinished business. My favorite thing about that last poem is that it could have been interpreted in so many different ways, it's great. I've had several friends ask who it's referencing, etc. So without futher ado, another poem that references my personal life, 'Missed Connections.'


MISSED CONNECTIONS
by Luis C. Medina

Her eyes held me hostage
alone under dimmed light
and ominous discomforting silence
I was out of place, out of my mind
attempting to capture her heart.
Needing direction, love had me down
unsettled back roads lost while losing her;
and those sweet southern lips
that weren’t meant to be mine again.
Her wicked ways and poisonous kiss had me spellbound
as for her trick, a disappearing act.
Miscast as Miss Right, Miss Right Now
was a complete miss.


To be honest this is the fourth or fifth revision to this poem, so I hope people like it. The original had three stanzas which consisted of the girls I was referencing in this poem, and a closer stanza that tied them all together. I dropped the final stanza, and merged the other three stanzas (and the girls represented) into a one stanza poem. I cut out some unneed words and descriptions, or as I like to call it "cut out the fat."

FINAL NOTE: 'Missed Connections' was a poem that came with a lot of negative connotation from classmates and friends alike. Originally it was intended to be a list poem based off of the idea "the girls I kissed" which turned into "the girls i DIDN'T kiss" which turned into missed opportunities. As for the inspiration of the revision, I'll give some credit to Jay-Z's song "Dig A Hole" on his new album "Kingdom Come." I actually came up with the idea of rolling the three stanzas into one after this line "Why don't you get at ole boy? Why kill a puppet and keep Ghepetto alive?" Well, loosely based. The way I see it, putting 'em all together simplified everything in this poem. Thanks Jay!

Coming soon: Hopefully I'll have another poem revised. I've got a dilemma on my hands and don't know how to solve it (yet) and coming some time really soon Lu's Year In Review! And of course, suprises on the way!

BONUS: From the original creative writing genius of my family and her interpretation of my poem:

• Sounds like....one night stand or stood up by miss miss or just a slow dance that never quit completed the play. tantalizing.
• u know i usually like seductress type/heartbreakers characters as my main characters, but interesting to read that from a guys point of view--u really got the less empowered side of hearbreaking but did it without totally dogging her out as a slut or as not sexy anymore, lou. thats hard to do.
• poetry being the most powerful words in the least lines, or something like that. im impressed.

If you have thoughts, I'd like to hear them!

Flattered

It's been a while since I've posted on the original blog. Like I've said before, I'm looking to change things. After watching tonight's episode of my new favorite television show 'What About Brian?' I learned one thing: distractions can be a good thing. And after a discussion with a close friend yesterday evening, my favorite distraction is the Chicago Cubs. So most of my attention has been put into the "other" blog because of rampant rumors and all-things Cub-related that I must put my two cents in.

With that said, here's an interesting tidbit. I recently wrote an essay responding to the question "Why Write?" and presented it in a meeting with my english teacher. One of the reasons I presented was that because there are so many forums and outlets to write why wouldn't one write? I explained blogging and its rising popularity relating it to how it seems that everyone has a blog, and the fact of the matter is that anyone can make a blog with my evidence being teachers here @ SIU and even NBA owner Mark Cuban are blog owners. I also indicted myself as a proud blog owner. My teacher asked if I had left the URLs for my blogs, I hadn't but it seemed as if he was interested. Not in a stalker-ish type way, but an intrigued type way, especially how I described my blogs. It made me wonder about the things I've written here over the years. And personally I don't regret one thing I have written on this site. I have nothing to hide. I remember the initial reasoning behind this blog was to re-incarnate the old satyrical articles from my high school days. Which ended up flopping, turning my blog into something people who I didn't talk to while I was at school could keep in touch with me. As things hit rough spots, the blog turned into a place for me to vent, complain, whine, cry, and emotionally let it all out without necessarily troubling any of my friends. Then my friends started reading it, and still didn't bother me what I wrote, because I've meant every word I've said (even the drunk ones.)

And now the blog has taken a different turn recently with the addition of my revised poetry (which I swear I'll get more up, it's been hell since I've posted the first poem.) So what's next for the blog? Who knows. I have one more gut-wrenching, heart breaking blog that I've been holding in for a week or so. I have a few more poems that need to be revised, that's around the corner. It's cold and it's December and that means 'The Year In Review' blog is around the corner, and this year I've promised a new twist to TYIR. Finals week is next week, nothing better to do to kill time than to post my feelings during finals week. And I'm sure there will be suprises along the way!

But I must say, the fact that anyone would be interested in my life, cool!

Poetry Slam Part One

So my assignment for my poetry (ENGL 382A) class was to revise one of my poems. Well I've decided to re-work all of them. Here's one of my favorites, called 'Gone.' The original assignment called forthe following: "try for at least one line break that generates suprise or irony. Include the name of someone you haven't seen in several years; a kitchen appliance; an article of clothing; the name of a street, newspaper, song or movie; one line about a town you've never lived in, and any three of the following words: mucus, tongue, sprawling, relaxed, maniacal, wrinkle, and spinach." I used longer lines and different vocabulary than what I usually would use. Compared to the original version, I changed up some of the line breaks, added some words here and subtracted some there to clarify some things and give a little more of a visual. In addition, I used some of the quirks that I tend to use in all of my poetry to give it that 'Lu' feel. Well here's the finished product, Gone.


GONE
by Luis C. Medina


In bed with my Tribune, abruptly awaken by an alarm,
damn buzzer on the stove won’t turn itself off.
‘Get it Meg!’ I yell, but Meg is long gone,
once sprawled next to me, now she’s dashing
down Grand Avenue with my favorite sweater, ball cap
and roommate to boot. None of which I will miss
as much as her shining eyes, striking smile or supple tongue.
I remember her saying that
‘Atlanta’s real purty in the fall.’The Devil Went Down To Georgia, go figure.



Your comments and input are greatly apprectiated. I'll post #2 within the next few days, if not tomorrow!

P.S. With finals week coming, you know that my year end review is around the corner. But I've tweaked the format. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!

Vacation Recap

Well this was an interesting week of vacation. Nothing special or out of the ordinary happened. Nothing worth a press conference or anything. LOL. But I must say I enjoyed my time at home.

Monday I spent half the day in C-Dale and didn't get home til abut 10 pm. It was great to be back even though I missed What About Brian/Lu? I wasn't sure about staying the extra two days in C-Dale over the weekend cuz it was dead, but the pool and the drinky and the Winston's was worth it.

Tuesday wasn't terrible. Got to see grandma again, and she got to cook me breakfast. Gotta love family that loves to cook for you. I also got to drive mom to work, I'm sure that's the reason she misses me most, she misses her chauffer. Oh and I got my nails done (yes again) cuz really my nails were messed up, but I must say since I've gotten them done twice I've quit one of my worst habits, which was chewing my nails.

Wednesday and Friday weren't really worth anything.

Thursday, Thanksgiving was amazing (minus the SIU loss to Arkansas!) Of course the highlights included deep fried turkey, mom's mac & cheese, grandma's Puerto Rican rice, mashed potatoes and corn, apple-peach cobbler and cheesecake!!!! And Thursday night was great cuz I got to see my cousins and aunt and I got to chill with Tony and the gang.

Saturday was getaway day and I helped mom decorate for Christmas and stuff and before I knew it I was on my train back to Carbondale.So, here I am, back in Carbondale until December 18th when I'm home for 21 days for X-Mas break.

I hope everyone had a good break, now it's time to close this semester strong!