Carpe Diem - Tyler Van Swol
I write to share the unfortunate tale of a young man, alone and rejected.
To you I tell this story, imploring you to listen and to understand.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
I once believed in the magic of my dreams, only to be told they must be corrected,
Told by you, with the audacity to think you had my whole life planned.
I write to share the unfortunate tale of a young man, alone and rejected.
All the days of my life, I desperately wished to be a man you respected,
But you, my father, cared not, as of my life you needed command.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
I was naive to hope my life would ever change, as here I stand, neglected.
How can there be change when you cannot fathom the problem at hand?
I write to share the unfortunate tale of a young man, alone and rejected.
Looking back on the life I have lived, I never would’ve projected,
But if you had seen me for the man I am, our strife we could withstand.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
In avoidance of conducting an illusionary persona, the alternative I have selected.
From you, my father, I take my leave, in search of the eternal promised land.
I write to share the tale of a young man,alone and rejected.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
To you I tell this story, imploring you to listen and to understand.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
I once believed in the magic of my dreams, only to be told they must be corrected,
Told by you, with the audacity to think you had my whole life planned.
I write to share the unfortunate tale of a young man, alone and rejected.
All the days of my life, I desperately wished to be a man you respected,
But you, my father, cared not, as of my life you needed command.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
I was naive to hope my life would ever change, as here I stand, neglected.
How can there be change when you cannot fathom the problem at hand?
I write to share the unfortunate tale of a young man, alone and rejected.
Looking back on the life I have lived, I never would’ve projected,
But if you had seen me for the man I am, our strife we could withstand.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
In avoidance of conducting an illusionary persona, the alternative I have selected.
From you, my father, I take my leave, in search of the eternal promised land.
I write to share the tale of a young man,alone and rejected.
What you hear is the existence to which I have been subjected.
Tyler Van Swol, a senior from Regina High School, wrote this poem "with the intention of evoking a sense of pain and anguish readers can empathize with," adding that, "This villanelle is what I believe Neil Perry would have written to his father in the movie Dead Poets’ Society before committing suicide. I think it captures the primary difference of interests between Neil and his father and how Neil believed he was rejected by his father for being a different person than his father had planned for him to be."
The editors enjoyed the sense of emotion and the author's attempt to portray the perspective of a fictional character. Tyler is also the author of the piece "Bear Down: A Sestina" in this issue.
*Picture provided by Pexels
The editors enjoyed the sense of emotion and the author's attempt to portray the perspective of a fictional character. Tyler is also the author of the piece "Bear Down: A Sestina" in this issue.
*Picture provided by Pexels