et voila!

see? no real pattern, no real rules, just a picture. it's barely poetry, it's barely art.
i'm going to do a series of these, just as insights into my life. that was one i thought up while in an awkward car ride on the way to MCC. can YOU write a tableau? consider yourself tagged.

wednesday afternoon [ tableau I ]

A rain-splattered van
on the way to class. Highway
hum a white noise, trees
on either side blurring
gray into the milky empty sky.
There wasn't much she
could have said, and even
if she had said it, it wouldn't have made a
difference. So she stayed quiet,
fixing her eyes on the wet road ahead,
savoring the feeling of
moving forward.

experiments in the english language *evil scientist laugh*

i've decided to invent my own form of poetry.
"THE GALL!" "the NERVE!!"
yes. my very own.
it is called Tableauxism. (TAB' loh izz' um)

basically, a tableau is a portrait or a picture, in this case, a literary painting. The purpose of a tableau is to give the reader a mental picture.

[ tableauxism = mental art ]

i know this method is used a lot, but in this kind of tableaux the phrases or thoughts will be chopped up into different lines to give emphasis on a certain point or word.

still have no idea what i'm talking about? ok. example...

words from the wise

cherish these young days, child.
hold them close to your heart
and do not let go
for soon you will be old
and they'll be gone.
cherish these late nights, child.
talk until dawn
and cry until you are sore
for soon you will be old
and you'll move on.
cherish these dark times, child.
learn from the pain
and never forget
for soon you will be old
and you'll be strong.