Introduction
It has been three months in the making, and an incredibly educational exercise for its author…
Creation Myth is my first attempt at producing a cohesive thematic sequence of verse. Having read the collection from beginning-to-end a few times now, I find that the overriding mood and underlying themes make even me, as the author, uneasy. They have an undertone of the adolescent - with [in]appropriate preoccupations - as it should be, I guess.
My overriding impression as I read through and make my final amendments is how fine a line it is between succeeding in life (that is, choosing that life - whatever you do with it - has value) and failing (that is, choosing that life has too little value to be a part of it). Perhaps many - especially those that choose to be commentators on this process - tread carefully, or weave dangerously, between these close-knitted extremes.
I have been writing verse in one form or another since I was about seven years old - I have kept most of them, and have tried to include them on my web site (http://www.simonhuggins.com) over time - whether I feel the poems are of what would be considered publication quality or not. Poetry has an intrinsic value in that the writer has felt the need to express themselves in some way - I have read Poetry that has been ill-formed, repetitious and lacking any real cohesion that has knocked my socks off. And carefully crafted verse that seems dry and crackly, losing my interest within three lines.
In recent years, I have taken to reading other poets more fervently, and practicing some of the elements of the craft of poetry. There is no conclusion to this - it can only be an exercise that is as perpetual as an interest in the craft.
I suspect that in six months time, I will look at this collection, and aspects of it will cause me distress, and an urge to re-write. I won’t. I have a built-in time-out, if you like, that says that after about six months, the verse becomes indelible. It is a representation of my thinking and style at that point in time. My life and preoccupations, and perhaps my style, will have moved on… such that any amendments would render the verse obsolete, null and void.
Characters / Protagonist
The ‘first person’ narrator in each poem is not always obvious on first reading. You really need to get a feel for the role of each character in the sequence to understand the perspective of each subject. If you’re a bit stumped, here’s a list of the main characters in each poem, the protagonist or narrator being the first against each title.
Nobody has names in this sequence, so I will refer to them in terms of a defining attribute - e.g.
Bully - In a sense, he is the protagonist, becoming increasingly aware both sexually and emotionally. He is also by far the most common narrator.
Friend - He who is bullied, but strangely still considered a friend. He takes on a (perhaps?) imaginary cohort when he becomes unable to cope with the taunting of someone that claims friendship.
Mudman - A man borne of the waste of others, seeking revenge on the one who created and flushed him away. He represents all that disgusts us, and is therefore an outcast - except perhaps to somebody who feels similarly cast-aside.
Brother - The brother of the bully who has a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that seems to centre his life on mentally maintaining a shield around the planet to protects us all from bacteria -a job he shares with countless others with a similar fate.
Girlfriend - Bully’s girlfriend, who also becomes a cast-off, but who awakens a sense of shame and loss that is perhaps a defining moment for the bully.
Bully’s Mother - Bully’s mother seems somewhat bullied herself
Friend’s Mother - The mother of he that is bullied is briefly mentioned as a concerned party
Mudman’s Community - The community from which Mudman originates plays a role in defining the change in his perception through the sequence.
School Friends - They get a brief mention as the fascinated classmates who want to hear about the ’latest conquest’
Bully’s Dog gets a brief mention.
Commentary / Links to Poems
Here is a brief commentary giving the narrator in bold, detailing the characters within each poem, and the poem’s overriding theme. Rather than giving an in-depth commentary on the choice of symbolism / event etc., this should prove a little more useful as a “quick start” guide. Click on the title of any of these poems to view the poem itself.
Bully generates an infant Mudman, with a glimpse of Mudman’s Community-to-be.
Bully bullies Friend about his impaired development
Mudman rallies Mudman’s Community to build him a shell in order to traverse the world above.
Bully talks of Brother and his bacterial defense shield. Brief mention of Bully’s/Brother’s dog before shield goes down.
Mudman walks the streets and gets ignored
Bully talks to brother about his previous life as shield-maintainer, and considers how this has left him bereft of personality
Mudman sees Friend for the first time and recognises their mutual hate
Mudman approaches friend, and despite his potent smell, a conspiratorial bond is implied
Bully has first rejection from friend, with an implication that the friend may have had sex
Bully has barbecue with family, Friend introduces Mudman who is unseen to Bully.
Bully is obviously rejected by Friend. Bully feels regret, realising his taunting was an emotional crutch.
Bully in back garden sees his girlfriend-to-be for first time. He thinks she has rejected him too. Also an implication of Mudman lurking outside the fence. Who is angry? Bully for possible rejection, or Mudman for possible progression?
Friend speaks of his needy friendship with Mudman, shutting out his mother. He is aware that he is on the edge of social acceptability.
Bully doesn’t want Jelly. Taunts his mother’s ailing during menstruation. She’s aware enough of his ‘feud’ to imply that his friend had some news. The bully regresses into the comfort of a childhood pudding.
Mudman seems to be watching the Bully and Girlfriend having what may be first sex. Brother walks in to see a somewhat explicit scene, and perhaps a stark sample of reality.
Bully realises, as he talks to his school friends of his experience, that the Friend’s implications were nothing more than that. An awareness of his Friend’s deteriorating condition is given.
Friend and Mudman sit atop a hill under power lines watching the traffic go by. There is a sense of shared helplessness.
Mudman is rejected by his community upon return below. He has become of neither world.
Bully approaches stability with his girlfriend, then in fear of this, rejects her and attempts to block out the pain with an attempt at serial sex.
Bully talks rather stiltedly with Friend. He realises that he values his friend not having made the mess he has, and a sense of protectiveness germinates from the thought processes behind this exchange.
The Bully is the subject, although the poem starts with the Brother communicating a wish to return to his compulsive world. The bully, perhaps for the first time, shows some empathy, and a tear for what he has done. The Brother implies forgiveness.
Mudman has become a tiny speck of his former self, but is retrieved from the sewers by the Friend using (ironically) a condom and a piece of string.
The subject of this poem is ambiguous - the reaction elicited could, at this stage, be attributed to either the Friend, or the Bully. The events are an echo to the later mass-slaughter witnessed by the Friend, but which the Bully then shares through his dream.
The friend reconstructs Mudman from parts of himself. The disgust of this is brought home by the thought of being hugged into this creation.
The Friend, working in a Chicken Factory, takes endless chickens from a conveyor belt, and hooks them to be packed. Mudman clearly enjoys this ‘creation’. A state of shock ensues for the friend.
Bully bumps into ex-girlfriend and her bump - he is not wanted as a Father, although it sets him thinking about that which he has created.
Bully has a nightmare about babies being killed and sold for meat. These actions are reprehensible even to Mudman. He has tapped into his Friend’s nightmare, and realises that his regret is dwarfed by this futile and despicable scenario that is his Friend’s creation.
Bully is on the bus. He is reminded by two small boys singing a Madonna song that he is now at a place in his life that is not so far off from what he wanted to achieve
Bully sees Friend, and realises that for all the mistakes and injury that he and his friends have sustained in their struggle to find their adult selves, his Friend in his attempt to avoid this has become a hopeless creature. A recapitulation to the first poem suggest a revision and perhaps a further decision is to be made.
Bully sees friend having hanged himself. There is waste in all senses - literal, and that perhaps the boy realised the possibility of life too late. The final scattering of ashes - the final waste. The bully moves on…
- Simon Huggins, 7th October 2002