Featured Poem: Threnody

For many, poetry gives us a chance to write about something a little more personal than other mediums may allow. For that reason, much of the poetry on Mibba is heavily inspired by or based on real issues, events, or feelings the author may have faced. This often leaves the reader with a piece of writing that's far more honest and raw – something almost akin to a piece of the author's very soul. One such poem is the wonderfully-written Threnody. Based on real events from the author's life, not only does this piece pack an emotional punch, it also keeps the reader enthralled to the very last line. This week, I caught up with the author sore thumb; to learn more about this great poem.

Give us a quick summary of Threnody

Threnody is about the death of a girl in a mostly-unexplained accident (I intended it to be a skiing accident) and its immediate aftermath, as told through a first-person-plural narrator made up of her friends and teammates.

What is the inspiration behind this poem?

It's based on several different events from high school (I was on the ski team and had experiences similar to the narrator's, including being severely injured in an accident during practice) but I changed a lot of the smaller, identifying details to protect me and my friends' privacy.

How did you choose the title for it?

I generally don't title my poems until very late in the game, so the working title for Threnody was just Elegy, which is what I intended the poem to be- an elegy to a girl whose life ended in high school, before it really began. The word "threnody" means basically the same thing as "elegy," so I just swapped them.

What was your favourite thing about writing Threnody?

I’m not sure I'd use the word "favorite," but writing Threnody really allowed me to process a lot of feelings I didn't realize I had buried. It was cathartic for me, in a way.

Do you have any writing rituals that you follow when writing poems?

I'm actually relatively new to writing poetry, so I wouldn't say I have a specific ritual that I follow yet. I like to have music playing when I write-- either a film score or an album I know like the back of my hand, so that it becomes white noise to help me concentrate.

What do you look for when reading works by other site members?

I'm a notoriously silent reader (which I'm trying to work on), but I guess the biggest thing I look for is writers with a strong voice -- I can forgive a lot of plot/narrative and character issues if the story or poem is written in a compelling way.

Is there anything you would like to say to anybody that reads your poems?

I would say "Thank you for reading them!" 90% of what I write is prose, but I got the poetry bug a few months ago and haven't stopped since, and knowing that my really rough first poems have an audience somewhere is amazing.

Finally, do you have any other poems that you think people would enjoy?

As of right now, I only have one other poem posted on Mibba: Better Than Silence/Better Than Shame, which is about a couple on the rocks, stuck in traffic, trying to dance around their problems.

Special thanks to losing control. and Audrey T for editing!