Nick’s poem “A Man’s Message to His Lost Love” gives a poetic account of the feeling of loss and uncertainty of a break up. His poem is likely a response to the prompt #1, but despite the extensive demands of the prompt, Nick still manages to create a very powerful poem. My personal favorite parts of this poem include the emphasis on plural in line five and the play on words in the last three lines. The use of the emphasized “plural” is unexpected and deepens the effect of the sorrow that the speaker feels. The use of “gong” and the final line “I know I’m beat” beautifully conveys that feeling that a heart-broken person feels when they realize that they’re starting back from square one.
As a disclaimer, I know that the prompt required a variety of poetic devices, so that contributed to some of the issues I had with the poem, such as the mention of the thorn amidst the nautical imagery. Also what I’m guessing is the “scientific” word required of the poem, “Fjord,” (ll. 18) ultimately seemed out of place in the piece. What I’m most conflicted about, however, is the rhyme scheme of the poem. On the one hand I really like what Nick does with rhymes, but on the other hand, I think it limits his word choice. In the end, this was a very clear poem that is a good example of what the prompt asks for.