I was wordless. Language was empty of meaning to me,
A creature.
Abandoned by my creator, I stumbled through the dark.
Rejected.
Why? Because I was imperfect through no fault of my own —
A sinner?
No. Not I. The other school of thought appealed to in advance:
Tabula rasa.
An empty slate to be encrypted by the world. So if I am deficient,
A draft,
It is the world that made me so: their ignorance within reflected.
This they hate.
They hound their own failings in attacking; unveiled in their cruelty.
Solitary.
Like the moon on the crest of a cloud, alone and lonesome in my plight.
To learn.
So many questions and for them, the answers few. The more I read…
Ideas
Like hailstones batter. Who am I? Whence I come? What place to call my home?
No name.
A luxury denied me. For had I even this, I would not howl in pain and envy.
Frightened
By everything and all. Unloved. A monster. To punish their malice I will plot this:
My revenge.
Will track you down. As winter is my witness, you’ll pay for your desertion,
Frankenstein!
*
vic briggs 
Powerful.
Thank you, navigator. This is one of my favourites when it comes to modern plays. It is very powerful and perhaps that seeps through my verse too.
Pingback: Welcome to my world… In/verse | vic briggs
Pingback: Learning for the PMP exam | A mom's blog
Pingback: Learning Style | Kansa Muse
So there! Wonderful poem.
Thank you, Ann.
There is a fragment in the play where the creature speaks about knowledge and berating his teacher for his ability to know everything, when the creature himself struggles and stumbles with every step.
I have to admit that I know it almost by heart having read it so many times.
I’ll have to read that, Vic. Thanks.
Let me know what you think of it. I hope you enjoy it.
Pingback: Daily Prompt: Learning Style | BulgingButtons
Pingback: Daily Prompt: Learning Style | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
Pingback: How To Learn – How To Teach | The Jittery Goat
You know, until the last line, I read this as a statement of a) the Human condition and b) a writer struggling to find their true voice. Wonderfully written, Vic.
Thank you, Chris. To me the creature is exactly that, a symbolic substitution for the human condition. I empathised with his plight because it is also ours. I am pleased that you also read and interpreted it this way. Nothing stays hidden from your perspicacious eye it would seem.
Indeed. It is always disappointing when people view the story as merely of the horror genre, when clearly it is an extended metaphor. Reminds me of someone I once worked with who insisted the Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ was actually about a tiger! What hope, eh??
That’s funny. I suppose some people do take things literally. Oh well… Nothing to be done about it I suppose.
Thank you, Chris. Like you, I always search for the subtext.
I’m not sure why but this made me smile! I think it’s because I’ve Frankenstein and your poem encapsulates all of the Monster’s emotions (that’s is if we believe he is a monster of course)
This is the question I was asking myself at the end of the play: which is the man and which the monster? It was a tough ask to decide between the two.
Thank you – very interesting comment.
When I studied this in English, I was kind of split. It was wrong of Victor to cast him aside after creating him but the Monster did do some pretty terrible things. It is a tough one.
Yes, the creature did do some terrible things… This is in part why I added the tabula rasa and the idea that we are not born imperfect but perhaps made so by those around us. By the way, you read the original Frankenstein – did you also read Nick Dear’s play? It is very good.
I haven’t had a chance to read the play, is it quite different to the book?
It gives the creature more of a voice. There are some differences, yes, and I think as someone who studied the original you will enjoy finding them out 🙂
Thanks for the info, I’ll definitely check it out!!
Let me know what you think of it once you get the chance to read it. 🙂
Reblogged this on J.P.W. and commented:
In my own humble opinion, this is a great poem about a Frankenstein’s Monster. Read it and see if you think he’s truly a Monster by the end.
Pingback: I do it over and over and over and . . . you know. | Rob's Surf Report
Pingback: Learning style | Life as a country bumpkin...not a city girl