My poem

Still we grow, Still I have love,

Our shit was real, and for obvious reasons

Still we grow, Still I have love,

We had to let go, Damn we was just some Koreans

Who knows maybe someday me and you

Can take a drive down Broadway in my 4 door coup

You gave me color, you gave me drink,

You were different, you made me think

“Finally something real, not made of plastic”

Even my friends noticed, they seen something drastic

Even though we over, we lost our label

I still want to see you eat, just not at my table.

I chose to do a “parody” of Ben Jonson’s, “Still to be Neat.” I took a liking to a poem when we did our blog posts on it, so naturally I felt inclined to try and make it my own. Jonson’s poem relied heavily on rhythm to emphasize it’s tone and emotions. I tried and give it my own “swaying” feel but it was very difficult. I feel I did alright. In the second stanza, I really emphasized that back and forth feel. The original poem was so beautiful to me for not only its simplicity, but the depth of those short sentences. I wanted to do the same; I wanted to pack in as much of a story as I could into those short lines. 

Jonson describes his poem of his love that was genuine and not based off physical features. That was the key part I fell in love with; he was in love. This reminded me of old times, and this project inspired me to write about it. The key idea that Jonson kept expressing was this idea of transparency and he fell in love with imperfections. That reminded me of the genuine love I used to know. Although everything that happened happened, we still are on good terms and are genuine friends, this poem reminded me how that love was real and the fact that my relationship was over didn’t make it reasonable for me to hold it against her. I also expressed modern desires with the 4 door coup. I also incorporates slang terms such as “eating” and the idea of someone being “plastic.” 

Jonson’s rhythm, although very simple, was very hard to reciprocate. I didn’t like, however, how “old” the poem was, it needed a more modern touch. I decided to make it more modern and give it more of an intermediate feel. I really liked Jonson’s simplicity and the punch that it packed so I tried to reciprocate it. Jonson’s poem also ends on a really “feel-good” note and that actually helped me realize that grudges are something you shouldn’t hold because they are simply just not worth it. This poem was really impactful on me so creating something again really impactful is actually quite humbling. Poetry is not easy and this exercise helped me understand that expressing oneself takes patience and execution. Thanks Professor Garcia and Lindsay for a great semester! 🙂

Vinnie Kim