My Marionette

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedThat solemn, mighty dance
my marionette makes;
there’s no space for mistakes
nor something left to chance.
To please the spectators
there’s no tears ‘til later,
they're compelled to observe
her solemn, mighty dance.

That solemn, mighty dance
my marionette makes;
she pirouettes and takes
leaps away from a stance.
In reverence for the crowd,
she finds her body bowed.
The least that they deserve:
her solemn, mighty dance.

My Marionette - A Poem by Tom Shaw

Music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife And Drum Corps - Boismortiers Concerto for Five Flutes No. 4, Mvt. I. Adagio

This poem stemmed from an exercise I devised as part of some soul and shadow work I am doing with an excellent mentor of mine, David Cordes. In one of the modules, I identified a number of personas that operated through me and gave them names, descriptions, and characterisations on how they behave both in “shadow” and in “light”. One of these marries to the “people pleaser” persona that I carry, named Helen, taking the form of a slender, expressionless marionette that dances endlessly. This combined with my reading of Metropolis, and an excellent line from the opening scene that described the stars as having a “solemn, mighty dance”, and I felt compelled to write a poem combining these two ideas.

Following the release of this piece, I did an interview with David for Substack. We had a really fruitful conversation, which you can listen in to below.

Authentic Expression with David Cordes

In this conversation, I am joined by my good friend and mentor David Cordes. David has an extensive background of working with charities, including founding Boys To Men Canada as a mentoring program …

Tom ShawTom Shaw

I’ve found poetry more powerful than any “personal development” tool in giving a name and sight-line to the unconscious and subconscious ways that I operate. We are inherently beings of metaphor; we use comparisons in order to make sense of the world we are in. Once we have a “name” or a "face” that we can put to something we experience, that’s when we can start to change it. This has certainly been true of my experience writing My Marionette.

Your Turn

I am gradually working on other poems for some of the other “personas” identified during that module. This includes the poem Teddy, which you can find in my book Kindling. Purchasing one of my books really helps me keep these weekly poems and writings free for all - you can check out all the options available below.

I’d love to see you have a go at writing your own poems on a “persona” that you may adopt from time-to-time - and I’m sure other readers would love to see them in the comments too 👇

Thank you for making time to read this piece. I hope it sparked something within you.

With gratitude,

Tom