In my creative response for this week, I used two websites. First I went to textexture.com where any text can be turned into a visual network text. I first chose a poem entitled “Alone” written by Maya Angelou. As soon as I entered the text, it turned into a visual colorful network of words in which each word is emphasized based on its significance to the poem’s theme. Some unimportant words are omitted such as ‘like’, ‘and’, etc., and associated words are placed close to each other. If you pass the curser over any of the nodes, the word will appear. Feel free to try that. The same website shows the most influential keywords in the text that I used in my second step. Here is the first version of the visual text:
http://textexture.com/index.php?text_id=44623
Here are some of the most influential words in the text “Alone” as they appeared in textexture.com:
make stone thing believe
suffering blow race
banshee child home
night thirsty soul
In the next step, I used Twitter to search for the most influential words, where I found really interesting lines of poems. I have drawn these lines together with some changes to create one single poem entitled “You Are a Poem”. I hope that everyone likes it.
“You Are a Poem”
You are a poem
trapped
inside the soul of a child
The day
will be what
you make it,
so rise,
like the sun,
and burn.
The tragedy that you feel,
The darkness that chases you,
is why you are here
to challenge your suffering
to learn.
You are a poem
trapped
inside the soul of a child
Don’t fear
that the poem
might not
reach the
third line
keep trying
until every stone
is
aligned
perfectly
in every mountain,
in every hill,
in every garden.
Yesterday, your troubles
looked as though
they were here to stay.
Today, your troubles
seem so far away.
That’s why
you must believe
in Today.
Every little thing
has
a meaning
across the passing days,
add a delicious twist .
And never have a bad feeling.
It’s strange
how a word,
a phrase,
a sentence,
a poem
can feel like a blow to the head,
can organize the mess
can recreate the world.
It’s strange
how the human race,
Had captured
The last
Banshee wind
In their search
For perfect silence
For perfect words.
You are a poem
trapped
inside the soul of a child.
You are created
to be a poem
to wound the night
of the tomb
with light
as brightly as the sun
unveils
the day of the sea.
Don’t forget
To write yourself like a poem
To inscribe your history
To ascribe your destiny
In this life
There is abundance of water,
And you should not leave thirsty!
The world is your big home,
And poetry
Fixes the ruined home
So hush the moans
write your happy poem,
Rebuild your home.
You are a poem
trapped
inside the soul of a child
Release your words
Release your self.
