Sestina

Back, many years before you were born,
An acorn fell upon the ground.
I began to grow, stretch my way to the sky.
It was quiet then, and peaceful.
My roots ran deep and healthy.
My leaves were green and vibrant.

The sky was always the bluest of blues, vibrant
As the day I remember being born.
The soil was so fresh and untainted, healthy.
I was free to spread out, no shortage of ground.
There was no noise, no rumblings, only peaceful
And restful silence in the sky.

Birds wheeled through the clear sky.
Their feathers shining in the sun vibrantly.
There were no cars or machines to break the peaceful
Quiet. I watched animals be born
As I grew through the clean ground.
I remained tall and strong as I pushed my healthy

Branches to heaven. But the air did not stay healthy.
Too soon the pollution seeped into the sky.
The earth turned toxic as the ground
Was infiltrated with pollution, no longer vibrant
Like it was when I was born.
The noise was deafening, no longer peaceful.

I longed for the past, days that were peaceful.
I was no longer healthy.
Some days I regretted that I was born.
The pollution caused the birds to fall from the sky.
My once vibrant
Leaves had dropped to the ground.

Now I can’t live because the ground
Trembles and is never peaceful.
The sky is never vibrant.
Corruption is the only thing that remains healthy.
My soul as dark as the sky.
I feel bad for the recently born.

The vibrant days of my past scattered on the ground.
I remember the days I was born, when everything was peaceful.
I await the day that the earth gets healthy and birds return to the sky.

Found poem

As I gaze at the horizon
A flash of fuchsia lingers from sunset.
Soon the luminous moon will rise
And the night goes on.

Some kind of voo doo envelops me as
I think of the one who is so essential to my every heartbeat.
His very essence is enough
To save me.

Before I experienced this wild thing,
I thought love was a contradiction.
Not believing in this feeling, intoxicating, enveloping.
Now my recovery has been set in motion.

Just one glance of the dark lights in his eyes
Makes my heart do somersaults.
A feeling as rare as a pink diamond,
As everlasting as a sterling silver rose.

Memory Poem

The glare of white light reflecting off the lavender floor. Standing off to one side anxiously awaiting my cue. In the last few minutes before I walk on, everything becomes crystal clear, as if I were dissevered from the world. The faint smell of fresh paint combined with the perfume from my hairspray. The dialogue sounds different somehow, even though it had become perfunctory from hearing it over and over, every day for the last month. I’m not nervous. Auditions, memorizing countless lines, hundreds of hours of practice, costume fittings, hair styling have all lead up to this one moment. I reflect on the other members of the play. Everyone is resplendent in their new costumes. The joy, fear, tears, and fights we have had don’t matter any more. I’m not nervous. Soon I will begin cavorting across the stage in the chimerical show. My mind flicks through my lines, making sure I am prepared, I know I am. The melee is always so much fun! My entrance is getting close. Soon the spoony antics will begin. I am reminded of how much I love this. The adrenaline, the buzzing nerves with the slightest twinge of fear is intoxicating. My chest gets tight with excitement. The audience is good tonight. Opening night is my favorite, the rush is the best. It crosses my mind how I wish the rush could last longer. Five lines away. Final adjustments to my costume, pull the skirt down, smooth my hair. Take a deep breath, excitement permeating ever fiber of my body. Two lines away now. My cue line. I walk onstage and begin my monologue. All of a sudden the nerves hit. NOW I’m nervous. But it is exhilarating.



Dissevered- (v) to separate, to sever
Permeate (v) to pass into or through ever part
Cavorting (v) to bound or prance in a sprightly manner, cavort
Exhilarating (v) to enliven; invigorate; stimulate
Intoxicating (adj) exhilarating, exciting
Resplendent (adj) shining brilliantly; gleaming; splendid
Chimerical (adj)wildly fanciful; highly unrealistic
Spoony (adj) foolish; silly
Melee (n) confusion; turmoil; jumble
Perfunctory (adj) performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial

Evanescence Music Review

Everybody's Fool

perfect by nature
icons of self indulgence
just what we all need
more lies about a world that

never was and never will be
have you no shame don't you see me
you know you've got everybody fooled

look here she comes now
bow down and stare in wonder
oh how we love you
no flaws when you're pretending
but now i know she

never was and never will be
you don't know how you've betrayed me
and somehow you've got everybody fooled

without the mask where will you hide
can't find yourself lost in your lie

i know the truth now
i know who you are
and i don't love you anymore

it never was and never will be
you don't know how you've betrayed me
and somehow you've got everybody fooled

it never was and never will be
you're not real and you can't save me
somehow now you're everybody's fool


The band Evanescence is composed of main vocalist/pianist Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo on guitar and Tim McCork on bass guitar. This multiple Grammy winning band was formed in Little Rock, Arkansas and quickly rose to fame across both the United States and Europe, going multi platinum and staying a year on Billboard's Top 50 with their album "Fallen". Although the band has had several changes in members, Amy Lee (the only original member)has stayed true to her original intentions and style.
The subject matter for this band is often very dark and extremely emotional, creating a cathartic feeling in some songs, ranging from heartbreak to death to fantastic images. The song "Everybody's Fool" is a good example of both the sound and subject of this band. The video has a sarcastic and satirical sense about everything that seems perfect and mainstream, saying that "nothing is as good as a lie" and showing that someone who seems so happy and perfect actually could be extremely tormented. This shows how the band is trying to go against norms and stereotypes of society. The sound is an interesting mix of rich piano and loud guitar riffs and drums with Lee's haunting and powerful voice.
This band's style is contested and everyone seems to have a different opinion. While it is often defined as "Metal" many die hard metal fans call it too "watered down" or "commercial" to be true metal. Others, including Rolling Stone call it "Gothic rock" yet some other bands deny that Evanescence is gothic rock. There is even some controversy involving their inclusion in the Christian music boards, although Amy Lee denies ever trying to be that genre. It almost seems like Evanescence is a band that does not belong to one genre. In an interview, Lee says that they intentionally cross boundaries but seem to have "gothic electronica" sounds. Still others classify it as nu metal, symphonic metal, or pop goth. The intense lyrics lend the gothic feel, especially songs like "Tourniquet" or "Haunted" which deal with suicide and dark imagery. The metal comes through the guitar and drums. While some may argue that they are too mainstream, Evanescence still has a metal background with gothic undertones.
Amy Lee and the other original member, Ben Moody, both wrote and performed the songs and shared equal credit for their work. Amy Lee is classically trained in piano, and she says she has been influenced by Mozart as well as other rock or metal bands like Nine Inch Nails, Sarah McLachlan,Sting, Enigma, Michael Jackson, Portishead, Plumb, Toni Amos, and Danny Elfman, the genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas. All of these could influence different aspects, from sound to lyrics. Amy Lee managed to combine all these aspects into something unique. It may sound strange to combine classical piano with metal, but I think it creates an intriguing sound with songs on albums reaching from haunting ballads to gothic rock. As to who this band could have influenced, any metal or rock band could have picked up on certain aspects of Evanescence that they liked. Avec, Ethereal, Jael, Last Minute, Opaque, and Ruby Bullet all have sounds similar to Evanescence and even have similar aesthetics.
The songs from this band all seem to have a different message, from moving on after heartbreak to wanting to give up. The song "Everybody's Fool" has an especially potent message. It speaks clearly to everyone who believes that perfection looks a certain way. In the video, Lee portrays a seemingly successful and happy person who is really in inner turmoil and hates her life. She has betrayed herself and hates who she has become. This message of going against society is very fitting for the band who does not necessarily appeal to everyone, and they are fine with that. The line "I don't love you anymore" is directed towards Lee herself in the video, an especially evocative phrase that portrays the anguish and turmoil. Major themes in their songs include love, pain, and daring to be different.
Co- founder Ben Moody once stated that the message of the band is that "God is love". Since God never once crossed my mind by listening to this music, I would be willing to bet that they did not acheive this message completely, although it was popular in Christian music for a while. Amy Lee recently said that she does not consider this a Christian band and that she was tired of being asked about it. Contradictorily, one member said that they wanted to express that "Christianity is not a rigid list of rules to follow". This one makes a bit more sense, although religion is not clearly spoken of in any of the songs. Music like this is often open to interpretation, and whatever the listener feels from the music. The band members have said that they are tired of neat categories, people should think for themselves about this music. Therefore, they acheive their goal of making people think about the music they are listening to. In a way, not having a particular message is their message, for people to decide for themselves instead of following blindly.
By challenging the world to actually think for themselves for once, this band could create some danger. Any time people think outside the box there is a possibility for danger to the accepted system. While the group is not encouraging people to violently take things into their own hands, they do want independence and individuality, unlike the girl in "Everybody's Fool" who followed and found things to be not as she wanted.
Evanescense has one of the most powerful voices in music right now with Amy Lee and combines it with instruments for a phenomenal sound. Even if you do not think that this band is appealing, at least give it a chance because the deeply personal songs can speak to everyone and decide for yourself what the songs mean.

Hypnopaedia.

Imagination is power is a statement that goes compeltely against everything in Brave New World, where anything creative or free thinking is quickly suppressed. This video uses images of brightly colored and moving images to grab attention and help inspire a person's creativity. The pictures can seem strange but with the power of a mind, anything is possible. The music is "Imaginary" by Evanescence and it talks about letting imagination take you to amzing places and away from any unhappy moments in your life. Imagination can let skies be purple, animals can fly, and clouds can be made of candy. The Hypnopaedia comes through the combination of music and images that could almost hypnotize a person into wanting and thirsting for new images and creativeness.

Dramatic Monologue (BNW)

A man can die but once, unfortunately.
Growing up on the reservation taught me that
I was not the same as everyone else.
I proved my dedication time and time again
yet they would not let me perform the ritual.
I was more worthy than anyone else.
As I beat myself, purged myself, I hoped they would see.
They never did.
My mother was shameful and everyone looked down on us.

My mother was little more than kin, and less than kind.
She kept talking about Other Place, how it was different,
that it was normal to have more than one partner.
Where they had clean things, never needed washing or mending,
medicine for everything.
She taught me how to read and write and gave me Shakespeare.
Then she found mescal and was soon reduced to nothing.
Even less than nothing.
Embarrassing.

Now is the winter of our discontent.
The strangers came and I got my opportunity to leave the reservation.
Apparently Other Place is real.
When I got there I realized the differences.
Linda was out into an institution where she was given soma.
She stayed in a stupor until she died.

That beautiful girl Lenina made me feel
more than I've felt for anyone before.
Yet she is a strumpet. How dare she?
She pressed herself upon me and i struck her.
I only wanted love. Love never did run smooth.

I found my own land and started my purge.
The flow of blood down my back was ecstacy.
Whipping and beating was proof of my feelings.
Getting rid of the filth and contamination of society.
Finally left to peace, but not for long.
They found me and flocked in great numbers.
They shouted at me. I whipped until the blood ran free.
In the morning i woke up and realized what had happened.
I hung myself. Dead, forever and a day.

The Moon-Drenched Forest (found poem)

The winter sun shines through the leaves
To throw dappled shade upon the ground.
Gentle birdsong floats through the air.
Clouds appear and the wind utters a sigh of sadness.
The soft rain hissing on the magnolia leaves
Drips onto the blossoms floating in the clear pools.
The murmuring mountain brooks
Dance among the light-flecked banks.
When night falls the Luna moth
Emerges into the moon-drenched night
And shivers like autumn leaves.
An owlish silhouette whispers through the trees,
Leaving shadows on the lacey ground.

When morning returns the forest will awake from the muddy sleep,
Stirring and waking to great the new day.
A mountain lion will utter a silvery soprano scream,
The sleepy owl a mournful hoot.
But for now, the forest will sleep amid the pristine silver of the moon.