Text from “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. Erasure by Susan Daniels…
not born to be forced
I breathe my own
not responsible for
working of the machine–
when an acorn and chestnut fall
both obey their laws
we slept with windows open
in the light of a closer view
of chocolate, brown bread, an iron spoon–
friendship was for summer weather
and the State nowhere to be seen
the dollar is innocent, but trace allegiance.
I quietly declare war as you submit
to a thousand necessities.
I should be satisfied.
It is not many moments
I live under.
***at Dverse we are doing erasure poetry, a form of found poetry. This was robbed from Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
I really like the last two stanzas best very nice write Susan, Are the dollars really innocent?
According to Henry, yes–not sure I agree.
you’ve captured much in this tiny poem. starting with the acorn and chestnut, following with somewhat subtle juxtapositions. and your ending is killer!
Thank you, Jane 😉
I too wonder if the dollar is all that innocent–great write Susan
Thanks, Audrey. As HDT put it in his complete essay, the dollar is not guilty of the uses we put it to.
we slept with windows open
in the light of a closer view
of chocolate, brown bread, an iron spoon–….uuuhhh i like MUCH… sleeping with open windows and then the chocolate and brown bread…hmmm…creates a wonderful mood
Thanks, Claudia. Had a lot of fun playing with HDT’s words…
This turned out great… well, I knew it would with those first two lines.
Thanks, Laurie. Wasn’t sure when I first started, but I had fun doing it! Glad you liked.
we slept with windows open
in the light of a closer view
of chocolate, brown bread, an iron spoon–
friendship was for summer weather
and the State nowhere to be seen…haha i love it a bit surreal and a whole lot of fun…some very cool lines you were able to create….
Thanks, Brian–who would think HDT’s description of being in jail would be so comforting in a strange, surreal way? Glad you had fun reading it.
Oh, how I love Thoreau and what you’ve done to reinvent it. I hear him and you together, a beautiful sound. Thanks so much for joining us!
Thank you, Anna–this was fun!
You certainly made this your own. Each phrase has so much importance and weight as you frame it. Life is short and necessity forces compliance but not conviction. Inanimate things may be innocent, but their uses certainly may not be. This shows clarity and great intelligence in arrangement and meaning!
Gay, thank you so much. HDT gets all the credit for the intelligence–I was just the arranger of his wisdom here 😉
Very cleverly done Suporn, frames a little, subverts a little, stands alone. Ping! 😉
Oh–I like the name fusion, RoS. Perfect! Glad you liked my foray into “Civil Disobedience.”
Brilliant. We’d have to go to a remote island now for the sate to not be seen
Yes, and there, if there were more than one, someone would set himself/herself up as supreme ruler over nothing 😉
& thank you–glad you liked!
Your ending really works well, Susan. This was a difficult piece to do an erasure poem from; and you succeeded beautifully.
Mary, thank you. I had to choose HDT, but was cussing myself out after the first paragraph. Glad you liked the result 😉
Susan I marvel at you
Goodness, Audra, thank you! You really should check out what these other people did–they totally rocked this.
I plan it. I stalk the blog but never indulge 🙂
Cool! My fav so far is Anna’s. You will have to turn the sound all the way up, but man, was it hot!
WOW is right.. wholly molly. She is great.. goodness.
Yeah–lots of great stuff yesterday, but Anna’s really stood out.
Would you believe I almost chose this same work for my poem? Great job–
I quietly declare war as you submit
to a thousand necessities.
That’s two very fine lines right there!
Nico–that would have been great! Can’t wait to get done working so I can read what you did ultimately choose. Thanks for liking those lines–they are my favs.
Excellent choice…using Civil Disobedience. And timely, Susan. I love the second stanza!
Thanks, Victoria. I just could not resist, with all this talk of tax codes 😉
Resourceful and nicely done, Susan, as always
Thank you, Katy!
Very moving. Excellent choice use of words.
did you hit the delete key on “fragment”
Yeah–put it back in drafts–I did NOT intend for it to go out yet 😉
haaa you got the Audra bug,,admit it
🙂
it is out there now as “new world magic” all fluffed up & ready for the world. But, yes, I am going to be due to pull something back soon…
Wow, that was fun — makes me want to read the original! THanx
Thank you, Sabio. Of course, HDT said it all best…
Sharp effect from your shaping of the original language.. a slow unfolding.
Thanks, Becky!
Really nicely done.
Thank you, Terry.
Interesting result…
Yes–it was fun. I think this was what your friend did, the one who crossed out words on a page and used the result as found poetry.
For me, the line “I should be satisfied” solidified the message and meaning of this piece. Quite enjoyable to read.
Thank you, Kim!