We Plough Along (poem draft)

I’ll stop fussing with this one. Set it away here rather than in backlogged files:

Who Drives?
“And so we plough along, as the fly said to the ox”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Every moment is measured;
Every step is counted.
I didn’t come here to tell you
how this is going to end.
I came here to tell you how
it’s going to begin: All
men die, few men really live.
Create enough hunger and
everyone becomes a criminal.
A single grain of rice can
tip the scale. He didn’t fall…in-
conceivable. It seemed
excessive, but that doesn’t
mean it didn’t happen.
Not everybody gets corrupted.
You have to have a little faith.
You told the truth
up to a point. But a lie
of omission is still a lie.
The fool looks at a finger
that points at the sky. I can’t
express anger. That’s one
of the problems I have.
I grow a tumor instead.
A member of my own race
getting above himself; Angel
of Music, you’ve deceived me.
I gave you my mind blindly.
Assemble the monkey warriors.
I want my environment to be
a product of me. I won’t be
the one who vanishes.


A cento of movie quotes to see what new context appears from the quilt pieces of sentences. I don’t know what the effect would be for people who have a soundtrack in their head of these movies.
quote of Longfellow
Lisa Berndl (Letter from an Unknown Woman, 1948)
Neo (The Matrix, 1999)
William Wallace (Braveheart, 1995)
Ra’s al Ghul (Batman Begins, 2005)
Emperor of China (Mulan, 1998)
Vizzini (The Princess Bride, 1987)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tracy (Manhattan, 1979)
Captain Picard, (First Mission, 1992)
The Sacré-Coeur Boy (Amelie, 2001)
Isaac Davis (Manhattan, 1979)
Tillie (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, 1967)
Christine (Phantom of the Opera, 2004)
Rama (Sita Sings the Blues, 2008)
Frank Costello (The Departed, 2006)
Lisa Berndl (Letter from an Unknown Woman, 1948)

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5 Comments

  1. I think it’s brilliant. I read the poem first, then looked at the sources. I’ve seen few of these movies (6 out of 14) and I think it would be a richer experience if I recognised all the quotes, but even so it works for me.

  2. Thanks Rosemary. Good to hear.
    I’ve only seen 6 of these myself. (the challenge suggested some quotes, imdb.com search to fill a spot gave more.)
    wonder if our 6 overlap?

  3. It’s always hard to figure out what to
    say to all the spokes you spin out.
    “Really keeps me thinking” is the
    best way I can nutshell it all. 🙂
    Sometimes I wonder
    if you sleep…heh.

  4. The poem really works for me and that was before I knew it was assembled from quotes. You’ve pulled a powerful conflict with a real goal of peace but also of determination out of these words you chose. I’m not sure I’d call this a draft…
    Have you sent this one plus the haikus above out to a journal? I think you should.

  5. Good to hear. I haven’t sent any out no. One day…
    All things are drafts, even the final one. 🙂

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