06-28-2012, 07:02 PM
@billy
Of course :3
Chasing the dragon can refer to either inhaling or the state addicts get to when they are chasing the ultimate high of heroin. In this instance it could really refer to either.
"The metaphorical meaning of the term alludes to the feeling that the next ingested dosage of the drug will result in a nirvana that seems and feels imminent and conclusive, yet upon consumption never quite yields the promised experience—leading to the desire for the next dose that still promises the same—thus chasing the dragon but never catching it (like "chasing after the wind [a wild wind]", a biblical term). Medically speaking, this sensation is a common aspect of drug addiction in which psychological and physical drug tolerance causes a diminishing return curve in the user's enjoyment of the drug. Here, the "dragon" represents the user's best euphoric experiences with the drug (usually due to novelty and inexperience), but with the positive effects diminishing (and often being replaced with negative effects) over time with each consecutive experience, causing the user to fruitlessly "chase" harder and use more of the drug to try to recapture the initial euphoria."
@tectak
I appreciate your input although I disagree with some of what you are saying. Especially about it being cliche (mind you, I don't mind a cliche as long as it isn't tackily done) because a cliche is something overused to the point where it loses its meaning, and I honestly haven't read that many heroin poems. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I don't think they are overused either.
I will explain a couple of the things you didn't understand, though c: -
Submit and untold are both correctly used.
sub·mit
[suhb-mit] Show IPA verb, sub·mit·ted, sub·mit·ting.
verb (used with object)
1.
to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).
2.
to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.
3.
to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others: to submit a plan; to submit an application.
4.
to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually followed by a clause): I submit that full proof should be required.
The addicts are submitting to the influence and addiction of the drug.
"dust lies upon our time untold"
Dust lying is meant to imply the staticity of the situation, of how unmoving it is, so that they gather dust like old furniture. Their time is "untold" as in both unrevealed and also inexpressiable - wasting away in the shadows so that nobody really knows.
"we wallow in our forsaken rapture"
To wallow is to live self-indulgently (or to roll around in, like a pig wallows in mud!) and to be "forsaken" means past the point of being able to forsake it... Essentially, they cannot give up their "rapture" - You certainly can live self-indulgently in happiness which you have passed the point of being able to give up!
"for this secret delight, pay dire price,"
why is it secret, why is it a delight (crawling,broken? Where's the delight?Dire is wrong word
The delight is secret because heroin is illegal and if they don't keep it secret they could be arrested/forced into rehab/etc. and it is a delight because heroin is very powerful in the euphoria it gives you. My closest expectation to it comes from my own usage of opiates but I've never done anything that strong. However, most heroin addicts are still aware of how filthy and depraved it still is. And dire isn't the wrong word, dire can be another word for dreadful... And it is a dreadful price!
@penguin
Thanks for the input, I will take what you have said into consideration, especially the double usage of broken (I know what you mean, I don't like seeing the sames words repeated in a poem) -
Although to comment on the last bit, it would depend on how you see wrongdoing. What the voice means is they have never hurt anyone, they've never lied or stolen or cheated, they just live in a world of self-destruction.
Of course :3
Chasing the dragon can refer to either inhaling or the state addicts get to when they are chasing the ultimate high of heroin. In this instance it could really refer to either.
"The metaphorical meaning of the term alludes to the feeling that the next ingested dosage of the drug will result in a nirvana that seems and feels imminent and conclusive, yet upon consumption never quite yields the promised experience—leading to the desire for the next dose that still promises the same—thus chasing the dragon but never catching it (like "chasing after the wind [a wild wind]", a biblical term). Medically speaking, this sensation is a common aspect of drug addiction in which psychological and physical drug tolerance causes a diminishing return curve in the user's enjoyment of the drug. Here, the "dragon" represents the user's best euphoric experiences with the drug (usually due to novelty and inexperience), but with the positive effects diminishing (and often being replaced with negative effects) over time with each consecutive experience, causing the user to fruitlessly "chase" harder and use more of the drug to try to recapture the initial euphoria."
@tectak
I appreciate your input although I disagree with some of what you are saying. Especially about it being cliche (mind you, I don't mind a cliche as long as it isn't tackily done) because a cliche is something overused to the point where it loses its meaning, and I honestly haven't read that many heroin poems. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I don't think they are overused either.
I will explain a couple of the things you didn't understand, though c: -
Submit and untold are both correctly used.
sub·mit
[suhb-mit] Show IPA verb, sub·mit·ted, sub·mit·ting.
verb (used with object)
1.
to give over or yield to the power or authority of another (often used reflexively).
2.
to subject to some kind of treatment or influence.
3.
to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others: to submit a plan; to submit an application.
4.
to state or urge with deference; suggest or propose (usually followed by a clause): I submit that full proof should be required.
The addicts are submitting to the influence and addiction of the drug.
"dust lies upon our time untold"
Dust lying is meant to imply the staticity of the situation, of how unmoving it is, so that they gather dust like old furniture. Their time is "untold" as in both unrevealed and also inexpressiable - wasting away in the shadows so that nobody really knows.
"we wallow in our forsaken rapture"
To wallow is to live self-indulgently (or to roll around in, like a pig wallows in mud!) and to be "forsaken" means past the point of being able to forsake it... Essentially, they cannot give up their "rapture" - You certainly can live self-indulgently in happiness which you have passed the point of being able to give up!
"for this secret delight, pay dire price,"
why is it secret, why is it a delight (crawling,broken? Where's the delight?Dire is wrong word
The delight is secret because heroin is illegal and if they don't keep it secret they could be arrested/forced into rehab/etc. and it is a delight because heroin is very powerful in the euphoria it gives you. My closest expectation to it comes from my own usage of opiates but I've never done anything that strong. However, most heroin addicts are still aware of how filthy and depraved it still is. And dire isn't the wrong word, dire can be another word for dreadful... And it is a dreadful price!
@penguin
Thanks for the input, I will take what you have said into consideration, especially the double usage of broken (I know what you mean, I don't like seeing the sames words repeated in a poem) -
Although to comment on the last bit, it would depend on how you see wrongdoing. What the voice means is they have never hurt anyone, they've never lied or stolen or cheated, they just live in a world of self-destruction.