The Story Behind "Love Knife, Revised"

Back on November 20^th I posted the song “Love Knife” I wrote with my old band Social Fallout. When I took an Introduction to Creative Writing course at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee I submitted the original lyric form of the song as one of my poetry submissions. The problem with that is that rhythm works different in lyrics set to music than it is in poetry. If you knew the melody for the song, than the rhythm worked, for those that weren’t familiar with the song it didn’t quite work.

At the end of the semester we had to take at least one fiction and one poetry piece and revise it for a final portfolio. I opted to renovate “Love Knife” for the portfolio. It turned out to be a difficult process. I don’t consider myself a poet, although I do occasionally dabble in the form. I had a hard time trying to figure out the rhythmic scheme I wanted to utilize. Stanzas 2, 4, and 6 were the first to come together. Stanzas 1, 3, and 5 came together when I determined what would remain on the first line.

I used the opportunity to also try to flesh out the message of the poem. I still didn’t want to hit the reader over the head with a message, but I didn’t want to make sure that it’s understood.