toilet knowns no grace

     I  (admittedly) don't really go out of my way to read poems, so any that impact me i happen across through other sources.  One of which is "The View from Halfway Down" by Alison Tafel, for the show Bojack Horseman.  (my rendition of the poems style is at the end of the post)

"

The weak breeze whispers nothing

The water screams sublime

His feet shift, teeter-totter

Deep breath, stand back, it’s time

Toes untouch the overpass

Soon he’s water bound

Eyes locked shut but peek to see

The view from halfway down

A little wind, a summer sun

A river rich and regal

A flood of fond endorphins

Brings a calm that knows no equal

You’re flying now

You see things much more clear than from the ground

It’s all okay, it would be

Were you not now halfway down

Thrash to break from gravity

What now could slow the drop

All I’d give for toes to touch

The safety back at top

But this is it, the deed is done

Silence drowns the sound

Before I leaped I should’ve seen

The view from halfway down

I really should’ve thought about

The view from halfway down

I wish I could’ve known about

The view from halfway down 

"

The poem's message is simple, it is about the regret of someone committing suicide in the middle of the act.  The poem slowly deconstructs the persons thoughts in the split second time that they fall - detailing their regret in a terrifying way.  It begins in third person, detached from the person, as the calm and tranquility almost seems inviting.  Then, it shifts to the first person, and the point of view becomes chaotic in that timeframe as instinct and fear kick in.  In a way it tries to warn against acting in such a way by convincing the audience that regret will be inevitable, as from a detached sense it may seem right, but survival is in the instinct and fear cannot be avoided.  It is a very blunt poem, it's meaning is obvious and not hidden beneath layers.   Reading it is one thing, but this poem made me realize how much they can fit into larger contexts and be so much more impactful.  The way it was presented in the show was harrowing.

      DONT MOVE ON IF YOU NEVER WATCHED THE SHOW, IF YOU DONT CARE/HAVE WATCHED    PLEASE CONTINUE. (its one of my favorite shows so if you havent watched it dont read and put it on your list)

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SPOILER SECTION--

    The episode begins in a psychedelic dream state of the main character at a dinner party with passed away friends and his father - taking the form of a race horse that commited suicide by jumping off of a bridge - performs this poem.  Bojack faces the inevitability of death, facing all the people in his life who have died.  As his mental palace keeps collapsing, the audience slowly realizes that Bojack himself is in such a situation as he is drowning in his pool in real life.  This episode of the show blew my mind and is still one of my favorites in all of TV, and the poem is a huge part of why - that scene still sticks in my head.  I think poetry is immensely impactful in larger contexts, especially when its theme or message tackles something presently relevant.  

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My (shorter) rendition (and happier):

The weak odor smells unreal 

The flavor must be sublime 

His saliva drools with appeal

Open wide, it's time

to eat the Taco Bell.

.......

But that is all, my stomach is full

crumbs drown my face

Before I ate I should've predicted

my toilet knowing no grace

I really should've thought about 

my toilet knowing no grace

I wish I could've known about 

my toilet knowing no grace

I (don't) hate poetry. Poetry hates me. We are a big happy family.

     I like poetry, but I don't love it.  I feel like if I had to rank every form of work - there would be many things above poetry: movies, books, shows, short stories, songs, etc.   However, I can appreciate art and poetry is definitely an art.   And I am going to contradict myself here, but you really can't compare different works (even though I just did).  

    The lyrical, rhythmic nature of poems that can be read aloud or silently creates an art form unlike any other.  I have read many emotionally impactful poems and loved them but there is something about them that does grind my gears and I wasn't able to pick it out until Pooja brought something up.  She mentioned how she likes those 2 line poems that appear on TikTok every once in a while.  

Wow so profound.  Yes this is the stuff Pooja likes... I am not judging!!  Its an art and i actually have seen some really creative poems like these, but it makes me realize what I dont like about poems.   It's so easy to make them bad.  

Poem's with their rules, or lack of, and their immense symbolism and rhythm and meter, are difficult to create, but also easy to do in the sense that they are short.  If any person decides to write a couple lines, they have a poem! and it could be really bad.  Trying to be artful and creative in a really stupid (subjective) way, to the point that it becomes corny.   But in that case they actually end up being ironically funny, so maybe their worth lies there?   Maybe it is okay because there will always be someone who appreciates your art, like Pooja.   Maybe an understanding of even the most boring and subjectively "bad" forms of art is something we need to appreciate.  Maybe Pooja knows something I don't.