poemranker ::A Thing I Must Do by Dovina

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Free verse № 119425

A Thing I Must Do

by Dovina

Member since 2004 · Posted 1 Feb 2005 · 36 comments

Shoes and socks removed and carried I walked across the infield grass. At second base, I folded clothes and set them on the plate. Up somewhere in the darkness of bleachers in the night he sat watching me in moonlight silent in his jeans. A person hides in cotton and needs to open up reveal herself to the universe all secrets told and known. Turn on the lights and listen now This is me and who I am I stand for me, just me I refuse to cringe and run.

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36 comments

[10] zodiac 1-Feb-05/9:56 PM Reply
Do you consider yourself a feminist?

I say again, this isn't bad. But questionably feminist, if that.
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 2-Feb-05/7:26 AM Reply
No. I consider the sexes unequal and different. Unlike certain British commentators on this site, I think that on average men and women are equal intellectually. On average, there are differences in how women and men think, but not in their ability to reason and to think through a given situation and form good methods of dealing with it. Since we are different, it follows that input from both sexes is more likely to produce the best solution.
[n/a] -=Dark_Angel=-, P.I. › Dovina 2-Feb-05/7:37 AM Reply
But women don't find alternative ways of solving spatial awareness problems. They just parp. In all other domains, I am unaware of any significant differences between the sexes. If you're going to suggest important situations in which a lack of spatial awareness is an advantage, then that might constitute a refutation of my argument that mens are better than womens. As it is, you're parping about like the woman you are.
[n/a] Dovina › -=Dark_Angel=-, P.I. 2-Feb-05/3:03 PM Reply
If I say you are full of canal water, you will no doubt point to a study where men and women were asked certain defining questions. If an answer does not fit within the outlined limits of the study, the questionee must be asked again and told to slightly change his or her answer so that it fits the acceptable limits of our previously specified answer categories. If he or she does not change the answer, we must as good citizens of the world be tolerant, and kindly excuse him or her from our study. This is properly called the scientific method and gives rise to conclusions like men are more spatially aware.
[n/a] -=Dark_Angel=-, P.I. › Dovina 2-Feb-05/3:19 PM Reply
It is precisely because women are less spatially aware that they come to think such silly things.
[n/a] Dovina › -=Dark_Angel=-, P.I. 2-Feb-05/6:43 PM Reply
To what silly things do you refer? Surely not that you have such a study with which to soil youself.
[n/a] -=Dark_Angel=-, P.I. › Dovina 2-Feb-05/3:27 PM Reply
What could make you think "there are no differences in their ability to reason and to think through a given situation"? For example: Most men are unable to clearly think through the situation, "Buying a dress that goes with my new earrings." Similarly, most women are unable to clearly think through the situation, "Beating a man to death with his own shoes."

This "we're the same in all the areas that count" foofananny is the number one cause of women's hysteria in England today.
[n/a] Dovina › -=Dark_Angel=-, P.I. 2-Feb-05/6:41 PM Reply
Did I not say that men ane women are unequal and different? If you want to argue, please do not go wandering off into some spatial unawareness of what the subject is. Many men are good at matching a dress to earrings. Many women can beat a man to death with his own shoes. If there were an internet simili, I'd be tempted right now.
[10] zodiac › Dovina 2-Feb-05/10:16 PM Reply
I'm not sure exactly what you think the subject is, but this conversation was STARTED days ago by the phrases "on average" and "spatial awareness." Ergo, the subject. I suspect you know you don't have a leg to stand on to argue either of these, and that's why you're trying to get away from them. That, or you're higher than I've imagined possible. Please, please, stop responding to everybody's comments with things like "Many men are good at matching a dress to earrings. Many women can beat a man to death with his own shoes". We're talking about AVERAGES.

PS-This not only reflects poorly on yourself. It reflects poorly on your kind.

PPS-You're bound to be getting an idea of where you're wrong on averages by now. If so, you're bound to say zodiac contradicted himself right there. If we're distinguishing individual women from the average, how can I reflect poorly. Here's how:

(Sum of all women's reasoning faculties minus Dovina's)/(Women in the world minus Dovina) > (Sum of all women's reasoning faculties including Dovina's)/(Women in the world)
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 3-Feb-05/11:52 AM Reply
Of course I know what averages are. What a long and silly way of saying I don't.

By saying I am merely one of a "kind" you exclude yourself any meaningful discussion.
[10] zodiac › Dovina 4-Feb-05/3:29 AM Reply
Sorry. I was under the impression that the bulk of your last couple of arguments centers around the following misunderstanding:

SOME USER: On average, people are better than yeasts.

DOVINA: You miss the point. A few yeasts are superintelligent telekinetics.

As far as I can remember, I've never said anything about you being merely one of a 'kind'. You might want to check my above message a little more carefully, and then stop misusing words like "merely", "seems", "meaningful" and "hopeless Gay introvert" for what I can only imagine you consider insult value.
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 4-Feb-05/7:35 AM Reply
Zodiac: "It reflects poorly on your kind."
Dovina: Yeasts are good at what they do.

[10] zodiac › Dovina 5-Feb-05/12:47 AM Reply
ZODIAC: "It reflects poorly on your kind."

DOVINA: zodiac's "saying I am merely one of a "kind".
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 5-Feb-05/8:17 AM Reply
You see, since it's not obvious to you, the cliche "one of a kind" is grosely and always wrong for obvious reasons.
[10] zodiac › Dovina 5-Feb-05/11:49 PM Reply
Hey, ace conclusion. Now let's see if you can find where I've used either "one of a kind" or "merely" in any of my comments to you ever.
[10] zodiac › zodiac 6-Feb-05/12:10 AM Reply
DOVINA: "It reflects poorly on your kind."

ZODIAC: No, no. I'm asking when I've ever said "ONE OF A KIND" or "MERELY". What? I haven't said those words exactly? Then you've gotten the wrong idea about things. Now give it up.
[10] zodiac › Dovina 9-Feb-05/6:03 AM Reply
"You see, since it's not obvious to you, the cliche "one of a kind" is grosely and always wrong for obvious reasons."

Are you trumped? Yes, you are.
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 9-Feb-05/7:59 AM Reply
No!
[10] zodiac › Dovina 10-Feb-05/12:59 AM Reply
Whatever. Let me give you a free piece of advice: You tend to mangle language. Stop it. Anyone will tell you "reflects poorly on your kind" doesn't mean anything close to "merely" or "one of a kind".
[4] Crakyamuni 2-Feb-05/9:47 AM Reply
Makes tons of sense that you never made it past base 2 with the dude in the bleachers, perhaps you need a good shave?, or a night light to guide your non spatially aware ass.
[9] wilco 2-Feb-05/3:00 PM Reply
One of your best in a while.
[n/a] Dovina › wilco 2-Feb-05/3:10 PM Reply
Surely you were not up in the stands, were you? Crakyamuni wants me to think he was, but with such a lame description of how I looked, he only wishes he was.
[n/a] Prince of Void › wilco 3-Feb-05/11:53 AM Reply
I can't explain ...i passed the borders of words ....
so dont ask me why ...but i love what you have written down
because your poem {a thing i must do } meant a lot to me ..Dovina
...
[n/a] Dovina › Prince of Void 3-Feb-05/11:59 AM Reply
Dear Prince, void of words,
Thanks
[n/a] Goad 2-Feb-05/4:15 PM Reply
This is really good. I liked the first two stanzas, particularly the second. I didn't like so much the meta-commentary of the last 7 lines. If you are serious about this one, try rewriting the last half a few times and see if you can stay in the image more and let the image make the commentary. (it's the old show not tell. First two stanzas are Very Good showing. Last two are more telling)
[n/a] Dovina › Goad 2-Feb-05/6:47 PM Reply
I believe in telling. I think it's better than showing in many cases. But since you have expressed a like for this in general, my usual hard heart is softened, and I'll take a close look to see if maybe in this case showing might be better. If Dark Angel were to treast me with this kind of considedration, I'd let him tell me things instead of always having to destroy his ego and make him look like an ass.
[n/a] richa › Dovina 3-Feb-05/3:20 PM Reply
Tell us what you believe we mean by 'show don't tell'.
[n/a] Dovina › richa 3-Feb-05/3:55 PM Reply
Please, let's not rehash that. It's been gone over more on poemranker than a lone bitch beagel in a pack of males.
[n/a] richa › Dovina 4-Feb-05/10:23 AM Reply
The 'show don't tell dictum' means that the poet must find images, or surface if you will, to convey what may be quite abstract. Now you can say 'you know that thing called hate they talk about, I feel that about trolls'. From this we know you hate trolls. Unfortunately we don't care because no one wants to know what a poet thinks about trolls. If you do not use the tools of the poet you are just talking arse and expecting us to care.
[n/a] Dovina › richa 4-Feb-05/12:46 PM Reply
I'm hurt that you don't care whether I hate trolls. Maybe I'll write a paradelle showing how despicable trolls are, and I'll do it to change your opinion on whether I care. Would I then be showing? No, I'd just be telling in another way. I like telling, and I like showing, and I hate rules, including somebody's list entitled, "tools of the poet."
[6] horus8 2-Feb-05/6:55 PM Reply
What? What is this?
Date rape at second base?
Jesus Christ...
[10] zodiac 2-Feb-05/10:03 PM Reply
God, I can't risk having nentwined misplace my reply again. Who knows where it would end up this time - on Brittanyy's last post, probably.

Dovina, most feminists believe the sexes are different. Unequal, too, if you mean predisposed to different aptitudes and weaknesses which probably come out even if you can tally them all somehow and give things like petitpoint and soapopera-watching the same value as waging and winning wars and inventing aircrafts. You probably do; and I, with some qualifications, agree.

That's not the point. The point is this poem is about a woman performing nude in a male arena for a lone watching man and thinking that's liberation. It's not. It's strippers' logic. If you were really empowered, you'd keep your clothes on.
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 3-Feb-05/11:56 AM Reply
It was for none of your presumed reasons, and empowerment for women is nonsense.

Funny, nentwined never pisplaces my comments. Why yours?
[10] zodiac › Dovina 4-Feb-05/3:43 AM Reply
Why do you think empowerment for women is nonsense?

At any rate, I haven't presumed any reasons, just pointed out that "this poem is about a woman performing nude in a male arena for a lone watching man and thinking that's liberation". If I've presumed anything, it's that the undressed character is woman, for one, and she thinks her action is liberating, for another. If I'm wrong on either of these points, sorry. But then this poem has even less point than I've previously imagined.

I suspect nentwined misplaces my comments and not yours because while you reply to comments and are replied to in a more or less one-to-one fashion (ie, one of your conversations makes a nice diagonal from top left to bottom right) made possible by your ubiquitous presence on poemranker, I can only make it online an hour a day (and at the end of your long day of posting, at that,) and spend a lot of my time replying to comments that have already gotten answers from others. The comment-heirarchy bug misplaces this kind of comments. Eg, if I reply to your "I believe in telling" comment now, nentwined'll put me after richa's comment or your "Please, let's not rehash that".

That, and I think he's racist against Islams.
[n/a] Dovina › zodiac 4-Feb-05/7:41 AM Reply
I am so very, very sorry that you are so mistreated by racist nentwined. Go for empowerment! Stand up for your rights, maybe stand nude in a stadium for your rights. But I wont join you in that cause. If I'm nude in a stadium it is for reasons the man in the stands knows.
[10] zodiac › Dovina 5-Feb-05/12:49 AM Reply
I don't need to go for empowerment. I'm empowered by birth, being a man and a White.

Are the reasons "to fuck"?