We see faces everywhere, literally and figuratively – it can be fun but I recall as a very small child being shy of a stranger’s gaze. to the point of having to hide. Taken from the Wellcome exhibition I constructed this diptych and the following lines ensued, in alliterative form:
Pity the poor paranoid
packaged up with people
part mask, part humanoid
prying through the pineal
Seeing the personified
pareidolia emoticon
til psychosis predisposed
puberty’s phenomenon
Peering, peeking, open eyes
panic stricken after birth
persecution in the gaze
purgatory is hell on earth
see. pareidolia (par-i-DOH-lee-a)
The image summoned the existential catchphrase of Sartre’s ‘L’enfer, c’est les autres’ (Hell is other people). Not a pretty sight but still am joining in with Poetry Pantry on Sunday.
Oh.. This is so scary.. To see those prying eyes wherever you go… The alliteration makes it almost mocking which add to the paranoia
the alliteration came naturally but had not seen your significant point Bjorn
I’m not paranoid, they really are out to get me. 😉 I loved the alliteration in the poem, I think it turned out very well.
thank you Nissa – my poems are not always punctuated with Ps 😉
Chilling.. !!
chilling from the paranoid’s perspective and the existentialist’s!
Oh Laura well done in image and alliteration…chilling indeed!
the mechanical eye opens and closes randomly which was quite unnerving so it set the tone -not the prettiest of ppppoems Donna 😉
the stuff of nightmares. Sleep well.
I see you in my dreams 🙂
“part mask, part humanoid” what an intriguing image!…
thank you for your appreciation of that spark of imagination –
“part mask, part humanoid”……..and “panic stricken after birth”. The one you have described must have a very difficult time.
trying to get inside the head of the paranoid is not so difficult after all 😉
PPPPPlease let’s look together behind the door! Nicely done!
thththank you Susan
You capture the claustrophobia of paranoia expertly..
part insight, part professional knowledge – tried to weave in empathy too – thank you Jae Rose
The alliteration really adds to the word meanings in this poem.
thank you – the Ps literally flowed out – not a planned contrivance
I was also struck by the alliteration, and how it deepened the sense of paranoia as you traveled down these lines. It was like being chased.
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
love this interpretation – – thank youElizabeth