Chicken Nugget

According to Patrick Rosal, a break in poetry is when "everything in a song stops--except for the drums and bass or the drums alone". Initially, I perceived this as the ending of a song, where a singer stops singing, and the piece is transitioning into the next track in the queue. After close examination, though, a break does not necessarily mean the end. At the beginning of a song, before a singer begins singing, the percussion (or "drums and bass"/"drums alone" ) is generally the only audible part. Using this knowledge, I have deduced that a break in poetry just the transition between the tracks--or in the case of poetry, lines.

In class, during one of our designated poetry writing times, I conjured up a masterpiece titled "Chicken Nugget." I would like to preface this by stating that my post-lunch food coma is a big factor to why I had written this with such a large emphasis on food.

Today I ate chicken nuggets

Tomorrow, I hope to eat something yummy.

My chicken nuggets were

the only food I ate today.

Tomorrow, my yummy food

will probably not be the only thing I eat.

Maybe one day

I want to turn into a chicken nugget.

But not for anybody to eat

Just to experience the world

As a chicken nugget

Maybe tomorrow,

I'll want to be

The yummy food I'll consume.

But for today,

I want to be

A chicken nugget

 

The first line of "Chicken Nugget" focuses on stream of consciousness; what I am thinking in the present while writing it. The second line does not convey this as much, as it jumps straight to what I would desire. Because of this, I would move "Tomorrow, I hope to eat something yummy" (line 2) and all the lines that are related to the future towards the end of "Chicken Nugget," and separate the present/future with a break. That way, it resembles something of two different verses in a song.

As a result, "Chicken Nugget" would look like this:

Today I ate chicken nuggets

My chicken nuggets were

the only food I ate today.

Maybe one day

I want to turn into a chicken nugget.

But not for anybody to eat

Just to experience the world

As a chicken nugget

 

Tomorrow, I hope to eat something yummy.

Tomorrow, my yummy food

will probably not be the only thing I eat.

Maybe tomorrow,

I'll want to be

The yummy food I'll consume.

But for today,

I want to be

A chicken nugget

 

The ending would be the last thing I would change (lines 15-17). It acts as a sort of conclusion and bridge between my present self and my future self. Because of this, it should have its own stanza, where it acts as a conclusive verse to the song that is "Chicken Nugget."

Today I ate chicken nuggets

My chicken nuggets were

the only food I ate today.

Maybe one day

I want to turn into a chicken nugget.

But not for anybody to eat

Just to experience the world

As a chicken nugget

 

Tomorrow, I hope to eat something yummy.

Tomorrow, my yummy food

will probably not be the only thing I eat.

Maybe tomorrow,

I'll want to be

The yummy food I'll consume.

 

But for today,

I want to be

A chicken nugget

After all the changes done to "Chicken Nugget," its final form reflects Rosal's ideas in such a way that each break is a transition to the next part of the poem.

 

Until next time,

A Chicken Nugget

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

 

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