For fun again today - Jousting is the sport - we chose a line from two different poems written by Claudia and Brian to write a new poem in the same spirit as Tuesday's prompt, which was Medieval times. dversepoets.com
The line (s) (2, one line from each poem) are underlined:
Where is the emphasis in your thinking?
Is it your right or left brain?
"What's the difference?" she asks
"It is huge", he says, and leaves her hanging
She does some research -
how much of this development is affected
by life experiences, she wonders,
and how much is inherent?
Does it act like the moon and wax and wane?
When I paint, I am creating,
using the right side of my brain;
but when I am critical about my painting,
I am using more of the left side
than the right, right?
Thankful I am for the nurturing I had,
a mother's guiding loving example,
with just the right amount of pragmatism.
Otherwise, as I understand it,
I might be emotionless, cold,
not fruitful or regretful...worse!
I would be robotic, a logarithm
where a chip inside computes.
I don't know the latest science on this;
all I know is that one side of my brain
seems more dominant,
seems to have taken over the other
The left side always en guarde,
the right side allowing me to explore and enjoy
It is an almost equal match;
Are there no rules for the tilting
by the hemispheres of the brain?
Do both parties wear helmets and armor,
carry a shield as in a joust?
If that is so, then, in the case of my
particular brain, the tournament is over -
Some games won, most foiled...
by the steely blade of the left brain's lance,
and in an Attaque au fer , over much time,
my horse lost its footing and stumbled
The right side has taken over it's true,
though the left is alive and kicking
You might say opposing sides shook hands
in harmony, but for all practical purposes,
all things weighed and considered,
the battle ended in a Coupé
nice twist in this... i don't know if i'm using the left or right side...lol
ReplyDeleteha. can we go back and forth...must we always stay in the dominant side of our brain...hopefully one side never vanquishes another...not completely at least...i would feel less complete....
ReplyDeleteIt is good to look back with thankfulness for the nurturing we had. Sometimes we don't appreciate it fully until much later in life. As for left brain or right brain, hmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteMy work for the left brain, poetry for the right brain, smiles ~ I think it would be ideal to use both sides equally but really that would be very exhausting ~ I enjoyed the jousting of the left versus the right ~
ReplyDeleteIdeally we should strive to develop the side that is less stimulated, but I admit that I have very little idea of what side is doing what most of the time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful joust and not between our two formidable poets but the even more formidable sides of your brain - common sense and rationality vs. fantasy and faerie gifts...If there was a coupe on the part of the faeries, I think there lives a balanced woman in between - one whose poetry I'm always happy to read! I left you a note on my blog. ... saying yes to FB.
ReplyDeleteI am EXTREMELY critical of my work... I think my left brain is taking over...
ReplyDeleteLove where you took this. It's s fascinating thought of a battle between the two halts of the brain. I would love to have a balance, but it seams to Bo one or the other dominating over time.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds quite exhausting, Kathy...
ReplyDeleteI used to be quite captivated by left brain/right brain theories but the latest research shows that it has all been wildly exaggerated. That both sides of the brain handle much the same things in rather similar ways - this redundancy is a way of protecting itself, so that if we do ever get brain damage, we have plenty of capacity spare still to take over some of the functioning. But, whether scientifically accurate or not, you have got the metaphorical truth of the two voices in our head spot on!
Oh lovely, a joust poem! And I think that particular joust never ends, but becomes a matter of an ever-shifting balance.
ReplyDeleteoh i'm glad that we have both sides - and we should make full use of them as we need them both - and they seem equally important...
ReplyDeleteThere will not always be an equilibrium. One always will be better from one to the other to be dubbed a genius or a dud! Thought provoking Kathy!
ReplyDeleteHank
Wonderful questions.... I just wish I had a brain most days
ReplyDeleteNice, the jousting of the brain. I think a balance is best in most things. I read the other day that the idea of left and right dominance is a myth, but I don't remember the scientific defense of this. I've always been more right brained. And I know I'm totally out of balance in this respect. Good poem. Made me think.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, it's a friendly joust and both sides honor each other. We do so much with both.
ReplyDeleteThat was funny and enlightening.
ReplyDeleteAs you suspected, left-right dichotomy is over-simplistic but loved by popular press.
The brain and people are much more complex
but heck, simple metaphors are so fun, as long as they don't limit us
make us falsely flatten out those around us or ourselves.
Apparently in Tibetan there the words thought and emotion always come together: thought-emotion
The balance of skills and our many selves is a joy.
Your poem sounds you have done them superbly.
Fun read -- thanx
Love the idea of the sides of the brian battling each other. Great poem.
ReplyDeleteI love what Marina shared about the complexity going beyond B&Wd definitions. I always get the left/right brain concept mixed up anyway. But I must say by choosing a line from both, I guess your vote counts for both; quite diplomatic. OLN tomorrow is the last of the old regime, I guess.
ReplyDeletebrilliant! I love the idea of the hemisphere's of our brains jousting with each other for dominance...although ultimately, I'm glad for both sides.
ReplyDeleteI saw this prompt but was off with other things--I really like where you took it--I know my left side is often too busy and too vocal about it
ReplyDeleteYou took the challenge to another level, very impressive.
ReplyDelete