by Tommy Hayfield

Created on: January 09, 2009   Last Updated: March 24, 2010

After considering the protagonist versus antagonist options (you might just say the good guys versus the bad guys) I choose to write poetry which is satirical and targeted as opposed to gloomy and generalized.  In the manner of some writers who thankfully don't get published much the "victim" is a recurring role.  We know we don't have to be victims.  You can achieve this by simply summoning all the positive messages available.  I'm not a victim and won't go there.  Humorous poetry doesn't need to have victims who don't have an upside.

Personifying

Cows who take on roles are a useful tool to relate humor.  Other animals work well too.  I've written about a cow I call "Hal Stein" in "Hal Stein, Quiet Cow." He is a reluctant hero although the writer/poet (me) urges him to seek the limelight and "kick up his heels and hooves."

Mining  the Second Definition of Words

I also found humor in the conveniently appropriate word "agent" which attaches itself to "talent" and "special" to forge a poetic link. I've had problems with the FBI "acting" as my agent and badly playing the part of talent agent for me.  The previous line makes use of a perception that the FBI, obviously, would be an unusual choice for a talent agent.

Personifying Has Many Sources For Inspiration

In the raven (lower case "r"-not Poe's "raven") I found an animal in need of a makeover from Poe's treatment of the bird. Poe made the bird ominous and foreboding. In contrast to his gloom I chose to make use of the appealing stature of the bird and make him a vehicle for to-the-point clarity and verity or truth telling. His charming and hip personna make him a symbol for kids they wouldn't likely turn down. "Raven Raves" is the name of the poem I wrote in which he was a symbol of "verity and clarity."

In "Raven Haven" the raven I wrote of became a "Hollywood" bird and quoted The Bible by saying "I will give you rest." His terseness and to-the-point demeanor appeals to kids, again, as a symbol of certainty and virtue. Some kids encounter turmoil in their young lives. Kids easily relate to a talking bird who is helpful and comforting.

Metaphors Can be Instructive

On a more serious note I wrote a poem about NBC called "It's After 5 at NBC." In this poem I gave the story of chains attention by annouincing "National Chain-free Month." The chains I gave a male name or pronoun-"he." The chains, "he wept" at the misery of not having a mission. The "painful chains wept" and (he) was still aware of the "duty he had to keep." There is a lingering memory of the past that the chains reminded us of- " a quiet reap he looked for." "He was a peerless reaper" is a memory many still live. The humor is encapsulated in the knowledge that we put the chains "in the corner" where we have dominion over them forever!   As kids learn to put their toys and things in their proper place they also learn to do this as a daily task.  We can laugh at the chains if we choose to!

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