When the Needle Hits the Record
#4
(02-03-2026, 04:26 AM)palifan Wrote:  When the needle hits the record,
and that old song starts to spin,

That's when all those
under-midnight-moon
close-dance ending-too-soon feelings
come again.

It was our song,
for so long,
that I almost forget
there was a day,
a solitude before I knew you,
before we met. -> since we already know they are connected, relate the 'forgot there was a day' with the loss of the music instead of the person to get more interesting imagery

Then you left,
I am broken. -> how does the broken-ness relate to the listening to the record? Does the speaker relate to the record in any way? With the 'skipping' in the next stanza, could that reflect on the speaker's current state?

And then,
and then, -> feels like the record skipping. Maybe bringing more ideas like that into the structure of the poem to feel the stuck back in time experience with the record?

the needle hits the record,
and that old song starts to spin

We're pressed together,
hand in hand,
and just like way back when,

morning moon lands too soon. -> rhythm feels a bit off with the double stressed syllables moon and lands  
Where are those Sundays in bed? -> my mouth keeps stumbling on 'those sundays', the sentence feels like it should be shorter considering the rhyme bed/instead pulls the momentum so much. It's like tripping over to tumble down a hill

-> i dont quite understand the grouping of the continuation of one line from the previous stanza and the opening line for the next stanza together in their own separate stanza

Now, instead,
I just wait..
for your memory, that needle that hits my lonely groove,
(Why can’t I move on?) -> the rhyme between groove and move is nice and adds to the sense of trailing life when the sentence continues
and our old song for so long  -> this worked better above, here the phrase 'for so long' feels pulled between modifying 'our old song' and 'starts spinning' 
starts spinning…

The needle hits the record
and that old song starts to spin...
That's when all those under-midnight-moon close-dance-feelings
come again.

The needle hits the record,
and that old song starts to spin  -> I like the full-circle effect, coming back to the same place as it was before. 

Over all I think its a good piece with good ideas, it could benefit with tighter structure - not just adhering to a rhyme scheme, but using the structure of the poem to say something about it like how the first couple and last couple stanzas mirror each other - and maybe more musicality in the rhythm. Looking forward to seeing it evolve.
Cheers,

Mic
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Messages In This Thread
When the Needle Hits the Record - by palifan - 02-03-2026, 04:26 AM
RE: When the Needle Hits the Record - by Magpie - 02-03-2026, 05:11 AM
RE: When the Needle Hits the Record - by Mic - 02-10-2026, 12:50 PM



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