Poetry is an oral and written art form. It is meant to be read both in silence and aloud. Today, much of the poetry that is written is free-style. Here, poetry becomes a visual art - the white spaces on the page as important as the words themselves. And such poetry relies on a rhythm and music embedded within its words.
When I sent my poem, "Untitled Until Later" to my dear friend Carol, who is a marvelous poet, she asked if she might suggest some changes. When I received her efforts back, I said WOW! What an illustration of the visual importance of a piece of poetry.
Below are the results of our collaboration.
trees bewildered by continuing snow
stark bare silhouettes against grey sky
waiting for the signal to explode in green
when this prolonged winter becomes summer
in one day
tiny white snowdrops
hopeful sentinels bloom under May snows
buried bulbs hesitant to push upward
Arctic melt carries seals on ice-floes
blown far southward
fearful frightened people
reach for stability in the absence
of seasonal cycles a stability no longer
existing they are afraid to trust
any sudden warmth
inept brothers bomb innocence
shatter illusions of safety
a thirsty nation devours every detail
in a media frenzy so many questions
elude answers
during grey days winter-weary people
collectively search for some assurance
crying out for anchors they cannot find
while heavy air saturated with chaos
hangs over all
trees frozen symbols in time and space
everyone uncertain of any future
waiting for something not named
for what lies ahead what is possible
beyond imagination
still having hope
Now scroll back to my entry on Monday, April 29th. Read this first version out loud. Then come back to this entry and also read it out loud. At first glance, this latter version looks jerky and abrupt with all the spaces within the lines. But surprisingly - there is music embedded here too.
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