this was the second part of my final experience for my HO English II class. the assignment combined my HO Engineering II, HO Chemistry, AP World History, HO Theology II and HO French IV courses. each student contributed to the creation of a fictional city (Puerto Deseado, Argentina): in engineering we built the physical model via eco-friendly designs, in history we created a government, in theology we created a city-wide religion, and finally in this English class we had to create two things. the first of these assignments was a manifesto that I posted already and the second is the following work. we had to come up with anything that proved the city existed and could be some form of artwork that would hypothetically be displayed in the city’s archive or museum. I decided to create a short collection of poems, each written throughout the creation of this city which displayed its people and history.
From the City of Technocrats
A short collection of poems (written in June 2021)
The first of the following four poems was written in the year 1860, two decades after the end of the Industrial Revolution. Argentina had not yet modernized and kept up with the rest of the world, which was causing unrest amongst its citizens. Rafael Girondo was a middle class poet in support of industrialization and the establishment of a technocratic government, in which elected officials are brought to power based on their scientific knowledge. Girondo expresses the importance of modernization in the following poem:
An Ode to Change (Written by Rafeal Girondo)
A stretch of fabric,
Slowly drying, shrinking, and suffocating
those who reside within.
A window to opportunity
That separates thyself with no door,
But rather a single, unmovable, pane.
And until thy mallet is lifted and brought through the glass
Will thy legs be bound to the floor beneath.
Until thy water loosen the strings
That binds together that cotton which perpetually tightens.
Thou cannot be free.
Without change, thou shall be immovable, and therefore, asphyxiated
The second poem was written in the year 1863 under the same political context as the first. Movements towards an industrialized nation were becoming more popular and widespread, causing wealthy elites to protest in support of the current facist government. One of these elites was Juan Pellegrini, the author of the following poem:
The Irreversible (Written by Juan Pelligrini)
A fruit from thy tree cannot be bitten
Or the world shall fall from around itself.
Until grabbing at the walls
Which do not hold traction,
Thou cannot save
That which has been done around thee.
Impropriety is sin, as is unnecessary curiosity.
Pondering a path,
One paved with golden bricks and eternal life,
Why dost thou choose the shadows?
Why dost thou follow the serpent?
And when thy feet are bruised from the coals of the earth,
And thy wings are broken
Healing cannot be granted,
And return to the garden is a path thou shall not take.
The third poem was written by Ivonne Valencia in the year 1893. After the Argentine Civil War between the fascists and the technocrats had ended on June 19th, 1889, the citizens of Puerto Deseado gradually diffused tensions between the opposing sides. Valencia was 19 years old when the war began, and 23 years old when she wrote the following poem:
Puerto Deseado: A City of Modern Culture (Written by Ivonne Valencia)
Puerto Deseado,
A seed borne from tradition
And watered with change,
Planting its roots so as it cannot be wrenched free
By those who might wish to disrupt it.
Puerto Deseado,
A soul which has finally been quenched
After longing for balance,
It has been achieved.
Puerto Deseado,
A city no longer of war,
But hesitant satisfaction.
Where the horizon is not yet fully clear
But the feeling of dusk looms in the air nevertheless.
Puerto Deseado,
A road lined with the gold of tradition,
Although doubted, ornate with crimsons and ivory,
A beautiful contrast to the silver winds
That now sweep through the streets,
Bringing with them the scent of new beginnings.
The fourth and final poem was written in 1972 by Lucia Suarez, a junior at Puerto Deseado Public High School. The city has become a stable technocratic nation, especially emphasizing the ideals of environmentalism and leaving no carbon footprint behind. Suarez was given the assignment to write an opinionated report on individualism within their society, arguing or proving any topic they so choose. She decided to contemplate the legacy or lack thereof within a “city that does not exist”, given that it will leave no geographical imprint on the earth, in the following poem:
Unnamed (Written by Lucia Suarez)
If I escape myself for a day
And all that is there is the earth,
Lush, as it is, uninterrupted and flourishing.
And if I leave my home, and my home leaves me,
There shall be no imprint
Or legacy left behind.
It shall be as if we were not there,
Each of us having worked so diligently
Only to fade into the flowers and the overgrowth,
Without a second thought.
And this is not to say we shall pollute in order to be seen
Or we shall cut down our surroundings
So a snow angel of dirt is permanently etched into the earth.
But rather that we must be called
To create something larger than ourselves,
Larger than our small nation.
We must bury ourselves deep into the roots of a greater society
So we cannot be forgotten.
So we cannot become unnamed.
this assignment was particularly enjoyable since I never really write poetry. maybe I should get back into it? I’ll see.
<3,
blaire
blaire sheftel 