Free Entry, Post 5, Week 6

My free entry this week is also what I did for my calisthenics exercise. I like it for its alliteration, but I'm not so sure about it as a whole.

“We need no prompter, the puppets said proudly.”

-Miroslav Holub

“’We need no prompter,’

the puppets said proudly.”

Proudly they said this,

for other puppets need a prompter indeed.

A puppeteer, or prompter,

must punch their fist through the back

of the puppet, pinching pine lips

from the inside, playing with eyelids,

pulling limbs with the other hand.

All puppets need prompters,

all but these proud puppets

can proclaim their power

to move without muscle,

to live without life.

These prompterless puppets

proudly proclaim their proclivity

to speak without voice.

Junkyard Quote 4, Post 4, Week 6

"I like the bouncing rhythm of repetition."

I included this one because I agree. Repetition is one of my favorite devices. Mr. O'Brien was asked why he included "I remember" so much in his book What They Carried, and this is what he responded with.

Junkyard Quote 3, Post 3, Week 6

"A bullet can not only kill the enemy. It can make the enemy."

Here Mr. O'Brien was talking about how, upon entering villages, the innocent civilians came to hate them because they shot at them.

Junkyard Quote 2, Post 2, Week 6

"Puppies and claymores."

I know this isn't a full quote, but I think the juxtaposition of these two items is incredible. It's something I need to work on in my writing, and this startling but true opposition is a great example to work from.

Junkyard Quote 1, Post 1, Week 6

"Fishing with hand grenades often leads to unintentional suicide."

All of my quotes this week are from Tim O'Brien. I went to a Q and A session with him last week when he visited, and without even meaning to, he produced all kinds of quotes. This was part of a true story about a soldier in his unit that actually killed himself fishing with hand grenades.