Lyra vs. Goldfish

by Corejo

Yet Hope, In Part, Found Purchase

How frightening the world had seemed.
When first I tried to hatch my friend,
I feared my schooling found an end…
How simply, poorly had I dreamed?

How silly, simple I had been—
To think me ready; What'd it say,
If I impressed Princess today,
With tactless fluke—the scholar's sin?

Was this the destiny I’d earned?
It's quaint; and judging eyes abound—
In silent vigil kept. I found
My solace shattered—what was spurned

And whispered true. The grounded fears
Found purchase in my trembling heart
Still innocent. Yet hope, in part,
Saw fit that I should hold back tears

And strive against. A silent plea
To Princess—aid, prepare, to share—
(To hatchling, then to fledgling mare)
To help with what was asked of me—

Inveigle them to empathy;
Is ignorance, unfettered, bliss?
There were no books the likes of this;
Yet years gone by had helped me see

That tender youth knows simple truths.
I fathomed, clear, behind their eyes:
Those simple truths—those damning lies—
What spurs the fears of helpless youths!

I curbed my heart and trembled, cowed.
"Well, Miss Sparkle?" echoed loud.

---

"Well, Miss Sparkle?" echoed loud.
I curbed my heart and trembled, cowed.

What spurs the fears of helpless youths!
Those simple truths—those damning lies—
I fathomed, clear, behind their eyes:
That tender youth knows simple truths.

Yet years gone by had helped me see
There were no books the likes of this;
Is ignorance, unfettered, bliss?
Inveigle them to empathy;

To help with what was asked of me—
(To hatchling, then to fledgling mare)
To Princess—aid, prepare, to share—
And strive against. A silent plea

Saw fit that I should hold back tears
Still innocent. Yet hope, in part,
Found purchase in my trembling heart
And whispered true. The grounded fears

My solace shattered—what was spurned
In silent vigil kept. I found
It's quaint; and judging eyes abound—
Was this the destiny I’d earned?

With tactless fluke—the scholar's sin?
If I impressed Princess today,
To think me ready; What'd it say,
How silly, simple I had been—

How simply, poorly had I dreamed?
I feared my schooling found an end…
When first I tried to hatch my friend,
How frightening the world had seemed.

Author's Note:

So this is my entry to one of the recent minific writeoffs. This was extraordinarily fun to write, and I hope you all enjoy it!

Onward and Upward!

Comments

[SIGAWESOME]

*blinks* Sees an update in "Norwegian Blue" library

Yay!

I really like the mirrored structure of this poem. Is there a technical term for this style? It certainly is interesting to see how the meanings of the stanzas shift when written in "reverse".

[Autumn Maize]

I apparently didn't get around to upvoting this collection, so it's like I could upvote this chapter!
I must have liked the other chapters if I was following this, right? Anyways, long overdue +1 granted.

[Corejo]

8062678
Wow, I never answered this question. Yes, it's called, surprisingly enough, a 'reversible poem.' There's quite a few of them out there, but you'll see that none of them don't adhere to reversible punctuation, which made this one all the more difficult.

I have another one over here, if you want to see it, too.

Glad you liked it!

[PresentPerfect]

Wow, damn, that's pretty well solid! :O I mean, the only metric stumble is "What'd", which kind of doesn't fit for meaning, either, but that's one word in two poems that mirror each other quite well.