Give me
the unacceptable weirdos,
those artists
sweaty, passionate
and forever
misunderstood.
I don't believe artists
who look like
movie stars
or fashion models,
because they always had
other options.
An artist
so ugly that
all they have
is their talent,
their lifetime isolation,
and their pulsating pain;
I find
in these outcasts,
succor
and understanding.
This is the story
I tell myself:
I'm not a pretty boy.
I'm an ugly,
unacceptable weirdo,
so therefore,
I must be talented.
Anyone else
see the flaw
in my logic?
What ever works...I did like your poem. I like to think some days I am that unacceptable weirdo.
ReplyDeleteThanks, nothing wrong with being an unacceptable weirdo.
Deleteohhhh, interesting commentary. The best part of the puzzle is the piece you know fits, right. You've captured the irony and solubility of Bowie very nicely. Well done and viva la!
ReplyDeleteThanks, such love this unacceptable weirdo is unaccustomed to.
DeleteOh I love that logic in the end... and to the point. Let talent be measured in BMI and pockmarks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, BMI and pockmarks? At last, I'm a king!
DeleteAs they say, the artist is the child who survived. I find the choice of 'unacceptable' to be an interesting word here--it has a lot of social meanings, but it also has a moral one I think--we must always be judging each other by some false standard--that 'everyone is just like me or they are wrong' thing. Anyway, no one was more of an outsider--a screaming outsider--than Bowie, who made people look at him and his work, and turned ugly to gold. Thanks for the opportunity to put my brain in gear this morning, Mosk.
ReplyDeleteThanks, that was kind of my point- I mistakenly thought Bowie was an "Acceptable Weirdo" but completely forgot his early 1970's work! Bowie transitioned, and it didn't kill his relevance, and thus my logic is ka-ka.
DeleteAlso, I wanted to bring Wesley Willis in for comparison but couldn't do it. Now, WW was a legitimately Unacceptable Weirdo, and I loved him.
DeleteA contrary viewpoint for me, because in my eyes Bowie was an extremely beautiful human being.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and yes, Bowie started out as a Unacceptable Weirdo and became beautiful. Me, I started out an Unacceptable Weirdo, and have stayed that way.
DeleteBowie wasn't an Unacceptable Weirdo, he was a I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You Because You're Strangely Fascinating Weirdo.
ReplyDeleteYour poem makes me think, Mosk. Sometimes it is the unacceptable weirdos that have the most talent. Another could be Michael Jackson? What talent but what weirdness as well? There is a place for all of us...and that is a relief. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteMosk, I think that's the beauty of our "online lives," so to speak. We're free to just be ourselves, without all the pretense that appearance and masks can bring. I have honestly never, ever been comfortable in my own skin - regardless of my weight, or anything else, really. You were created a Beautiful Weirdo, and God uses that. I'm always inspired and blessed by your words.
ReplyDeletethe beauty we find is reflected from our weird selves - hope some find me weird, that way I know I'm not a clone of society
ReplyDeleteI love the pure talent of the artist ~ How he or she markets himself or herself to the world is another talent ~ But good for you to find kinship among these talented people ~
ReplyDeleteI like the rebellious spirit of this poem and its quirky logic. Then again, there are so many who pretend to be weird and different, but are really just following a trend. I don't know about acceptable or normal, never really could understand those norms...
ReplyDeleteI don't see any flaw in your logic. People find art in different areas and places. Like you, I too find art in the ugliness of it all; it is in your ugliness and that of my own and that of others that art perpetually grows.
ReplyDeleteWell penned.
-HA
I am a fish of different fins in a sea demented by a rush to Armageddon. Thank God for weirdos ugly enough to be creatives. Love this piece! Thank you for your comments on my poem...perhaps there is a bit of the Chicana in me. :)
ReplyDeletesMiLes..
ReplyDeleteAND so iroNic..
so many 'people'
and 'artists' too.. pRaise
the different unTil tHey
actuAlly ENCOUNTER iT..
In REAL life.. different
scares at least
half the
population
and most of
them rarely
confront
it.. other
than
E-scaping
it... Now..
that's okay..
as that too is
human nature..
oh.. ah.. but to be
totAlly open-minded
iS to have the Hawk's view..
no matter iF spiRaLinG the
SuN
iS
StRange
or not..;)
No flaw there, Buddah. God spare us from those who chose to use plastic surgery--reproducing the same look. I'm learning to love my wrinkles. And scars, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteInside is grace and beauty..inside is poetry, intelligence, and a loving heart. I find these in the isolated, the eccentric, the committed. These are the beautiful people to me.
ReplyDeleteThere is no flaw, B. What a wonderful poem, Bowie coaxed out of you!
ReplyDeleteLove the logic. ;)
ReplyDeleteFlaw? What flaw? There's hope for us all yet.
ReplyDeleteyou're good. which is weird, because these days, that's what it is. and weird? well, yeah, but then, takes one to know one... ~
ReplyDelete