By Lali Bagwell
My poem is based on the Ein Hungerkünstler wire sculpture by Martin Senn. I decided to use a sonnet format with the Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. I took inspiration from the sculpture itself, but I also used the short story A hunger Artist by Franz Kafka and the short film we viewed in class as inspiration for my poem. I decided to focus more on the art rather than the artist himself, the poem represents the figure’s inner thoughts, which is why all of the dialogue in my poem is with himself. I made the decision to not include any lines pertaining to food or hunger given that from Franz Kafka’s short story we realize that the Hunger Artist isn’t starving himself for money or fame but instead is trying to create art for people to enjoy and reflect on. Kafka makes it clear he truly doesn’t feel hungry and wishes he could starve himself for longer. Each stanza represents a shift in the hunger artist’s attitude towards his work. At first, he is frustrated which is reflected by the line “As the children laugh, I wish the cage would break”, the hunger artist feels trapped within his own art. He then turns to a more hopeful state which is represented through the line, “I sit still only hoping, wishing for the day”, this reflects his hope that people will start to understand his work. This hopeful state is quickly followed by bargaining, “I plead and ask for more, more, more”, which is representative of his desire to continue his art and push himself to another level of his profession. He knows he can go longer but his manager won’t let him starve for more than 40 days. This eventually leads to his demise and discontentment, “If only they knew I whisper as the life slips away”. While viewing the sculpture I felt a sense of emptiness, the figure is not only physically empty but mentally drained because he feels misunderstood. This feeling of emptiness is represented throughout my poem with lines like “body draped on the floor” and “I beg and ask for someone to stay”. I hope to evoke this same feeling in the readers of my poem.
Time in the Cage- the Story of a Hunger Artist: Lali Bagwell
Alone surrounded by my thoughts
The sounds of wind and loose paper keep me awake
So much time spent in here I almost forgot
As the children laugh, I wish the cage would break
I am jolted into consciousness back to preforming I say
The audience starts to leave
I sit still only hoping, wishing for the day
I think to myself if only they could perceive
For this is art which is often rare
I plead and ask for more, more, more
Just some more time, I can do it I swear
As I sink back into my cage body draped on the floor
If only they knew I whisper as the life slips away
I beg and ask for someone to stay
I always enjoy poems, but something about poems that rhyme… they are the best!!! It reels me in even more and it isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do or else more people would do it.
I enjoyed your poem because it does a good job of exemplifying how the hunger artist is feeling. Taking away the act of starving himself from the poem was an intriguing choice, it really puts the emphasis on the fact that the hunger artist is creating art by starving himself. I especially enjoyed the line, “As I sink back into my cage body draped on the floor” as it pertains to the art. Good job!
I also want to comment on the fact that it rhymes – great work. I feel like poetry in the traditional sense when we think about it rhymes, but a lot of poems I read actually don’y. It’s harder to make poems rhyme, so I really applaud the effort that clearly went into this. But also, the fact that it rhymes works really well with the painting and the “story” in general because it reads almost like an old wives tale. Like in a darker storybook. So all in all it just really worked, so great job!