Can't Let You Have That
fly away to everywhere
reach and reach and reach
hear the sky! it's calling you
angel pick up your wings
except when it came to you
you never sang that tune to me
that which i valued the most
was what you hated most about me
you are the only one who always tells me
to stop trying to fly higher
to settle down, to stay on the ground, to be like the rest
and of all the unbelievable that i am faced with
it rips me up the most to know this is what you want for me
when normalcy is one of the worst things to me!
but of course you wouldn't know that
you don't know anything about me
all along you only wanted to know me
as what you created me to be in your mind
not for the one i really am
i try soaring, higher, higher...
those chains you put on me weigh me down
chains that always sing to me
plummet down, down, down
and now you're back where you belong
but i don't belong there
i hear a different song than yours
and it tells me that i don't belong there
and no matter how loud you sing you can never drown this one out
and of all the unbelievable that i am faced with
it rips me up the most to know this is what you want for me
posted by steph @ 5:12 PM
5 Comments:
steph,
Im proud of you. For how you live your life.. for the adventure. I admire you for it. For your love for things that most ppl just take advantage of...
-karla
angel you were born to fly, and if you get too high, I'll catch you when you fall, I'll catch you when you fall
A one line review of "Can't Let You Have That": Nine Inch Nails flipped on its head.
In explanation of the previous post.
Here are a few typical NIN excerpts, less the profanity:
So impressed with all you do
Tried so hard to be like you
Flew too high and burnt the wing
Lost my faith in everything
~~
I’m losing ground
You know how this world can beat you down
I’m made of clay
I fear I’m the only one who thinks this way
I’m always falling down the same hill
Bamboo puncturing this skin
And nothing comes bleeding out of me just like a waterfall I’m drowning in
Two feet below the surface I can still make out your wavy face
And if I could just reach you maybe I could leave this place
~~
Or at his most optimistic, Reznor might write something like this:
Staring at the sea
Will she come?
Is there hope for me
After all is said and done
Anything at any price
All of this for you
All the spoils of a wasted life
All of this for you
~~
Similar to your poem, "Can't Let You Have That", some kind of a fall (in Reznor's case a fairly absolute fall from grace, in yours a temporally recurring pull against your...I'll say dreams since I don't know precisely what you're referring to) is the object. Sometimes Reznor looks back longingly to someone he used to hope could 'save' him from it, but failed (it's worth noting that for Reznor it isn't really a fall, since he's bound to it, spiritually, socially, etc. - he can only dream of the possibility of escaping it). Sometimes he condemns those who self-righteously have tried or continue to try to help him, but in vain, or even to ill-effect. Other times he seeks to play the role of the person who failed for him (the protector), yet his promises of support are coupled with bleak assurances that he too will fail.
The point in all of this is that Reznor writes about people who have failed him by omission. You, on the other hand, write about being bound by the actions of someone else. You are stifled not by what is left undone, but by what is, presumably, done.
You are pulled away from what you seek, Reznor never receives the push he needs to make it to what he seeks but cannot reach himself.
There are other interesting parallels, such the flight imagery, references to the person who thinks they know who you are but really has no idea, and so on, but I won’t belabour the point.
This is probably a longer explanation than you expected, but anyway, that’s all I meant.
i am impressed tristan. your explanation and elaboration somehow showed me more about a poem that i myself wrote. well done.
by the way, although i now see some the parallels to Nine Inch Nails, i would be lying if i credited any inspiration to them...i have never actually listened to them. although i am sort of prompted to check them out now...
you've managed to avoid telling me what you think of my poetry though...
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