The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I wrote a poem a couple weeks back, entitled "Beat". Since then, it has generated the most hits and comments of any writing of mine. The comments have all been very positive and the poem was even declared the winner of a contest. What I've especially found fascinating are the different interpretations of the poem. As it was intended upon writing the piece, I did want to integrate ambiguity as I often times do, so I'm not at all surprised with the different interpretations. However, none of the interpretations have coincided with what my main vision was. The poem reads as follows: Beat Sheltered from this world, Protected from potential harm, Fearful of being released, Wanting to maintain its innocence, As it begins to mature, Innocence slowly fades, Longing for a sense of freedom, To make its own decisions, Finally out in the world, Released to the masses, Curiosity at its peak, Expanding with every experience, Handed to another, Trusting of thei...

So, I just won a poetry contest. Yay! Well, okay, so perhaps it's more of a "prestige" thing, because I didn't win any money. We all know how famous many contemporary poets are too, so I've got that going for me. Aw yeah! Perhaps I should enter some where I can actually win money, even just $5. I can then brag to the ladies at bars, "Hey baby, did you know I just won $5 at a poetry contest? So... wanna go out sometime?" That will win her over! The poem that won it is one of my recent efforts: Beat Sheltered from this world, Protected from potential harm, Fearful of being released, Wanting to maintain its innocence, As it begins to mature, Innocence slowly fades, Longing for a sense of freedom, To make its own decisions, Finally out in the world, Released to the masses, Curiosity at its peak, Expanding with every experience, Handed to another, Trusting of their care, Full of life and joy, Fears, worries and doubts spared, No long...

I JUST wrote this new poem of mine, "Beat," posted it to some websites and have already received a review. The commentator said: "This is such a powerful write, I felt intensity with this. So nicely done." Here is the poem: Sheltered from this world, Protected from potential harm, Fearful of being released, Wanting to maintain its innocence, As it begins to mature, Innocence slowly fades, Longing for a sense of freedom, To make its own decisions, Finally out in the world, Released to the masses, Curiosity at its peak, Expanding with every experience, Handed to another, Trusting of their care, Full of life and joy, Fears, worries and doubts spared, No longer protected, No longer innocent, Beating with desire, Beating with passion, Looked at momentarily, Before being thrown to the ground, Slowly breaking, Being kicked and stomped upon, Released unto her, Beating with life, Broken and crushed, The beating has stopped.

We've all done this in the past, used a word that we probably shouldn't have in a sentence. It may have been profane, may not have made any sense, or it may have been so ambiguous that a person may not have known exactly what it was you were saying. A friend of mine did exactly this a few years ago. We were just chatting. I brought up a person who was getting into some trouble and she said, "His parents should have beat him as a kid. It may have done him some good. I was beat and look at me. I turned out alright." I had a very confused look on my face, I'm sure. So, I became inquisitive, and asked what she exactly meant by beat. When I hear that, I think of one thing- abuse. If someone were to tell me that a parent beats their child, I would immediately think that the child was getting physically abused. But, no, she then said, "No, I just meant light spankings." How can you say a child should get beat and then say all you meant was light spankin...