NaBloPoMo 9

Very new draft--still needs work but feedback appreciated.


Poem About Fonts

First, you must know your place in the family
Do you bring them close or push them away?
Whatever. You must learn to love the differences.
You must wish, albeit briefly, that this is
where you want to be. Next, you must address the
anatomy of text. You are, after all, the ninth letter.
You were chosen for a reason. Recognize the reason
but keep it to yourself. You can talk to old
photos, but those conversations are sure to be one sided.
Be kind to the books on the shelf, but not too kind--
save that story for another day. What keeps this family together?
Surely there is L O V E, because the lack of it creates a yearning.
Watch the L as it listens intently to the O’s rounded mouth
every modulation harkens a celebration
of bloom and gloom, and the origami of the V,
whose seductive valley makes her limbs rise
despite the obvious digression, in spite of
the E always looking away.
Your family defines you—every inclination,
every ascension and decension,
is in your character. It’s in the words
you carry with you.

Comments

Cate said…
I really love this poem, January. It's one I'd like to read again and again.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving. xo
Anonymous said…
You cover a lot in this poem, and I particularly like the origami of V. I think the ideas still feel a little separate -- the general sort of typography references start with the font family, and that ties in at the end, but in between it feels like there's a jump when you start spelling LOVE. Have you tried breaking it into two stanzas?
Catherine said…
There's a lot in this poem - it needs mulling over. I had to count through the alphabet to realise the significance of the "ninth letter" - you cleverly worked "I" into the poem without mentioning "I"
January said…
Thanks Cate. Does this mean you're blogging again?

J, I did think about breaking the poem into stanza, or formatting them differently, but blogger doesn't allow me to tag (I'm sure there's a trick, I just don't know it.) I'll fool with it to see what happens--thanks for the suggestions.

Catherine, I think I need to mull the poem over, too! Thanks for the feedback.
Ananda said…
Surely there is L O V E, because the lack of it creates a yearning.
Watch the L as it listens intently to the O’s rounded mouth
every modulation harkens a celebration
of bloom and gloom, and the origami of the V,
whose seductive valley makes her limbs rise
despite the obvious digression, in spite of
the E always looking away.
Your family defines you—every inclination,
every ascension and decension,
is in your character. It’s in the words
you carry with you.


i really enjoyed the passage above. it made me think of the love i have with my family. it would look kinda like what you said in the passage. i felt very connected with the power of letters connecting to form a word. that's like love. we connect with each other to create more love. we are like letters in a word. together, we complete it. we are love. happy thanksgiving.
Anonymous said…
I'm late, a house full of family do that to you, I'm sorry.
This poem is so full of feeling. The last two lines were my favorite
Anonymous said…
I am enamored of this piece - I love the vehicle of the letters and their relation to one another. I do agree with J that the transition to L O V E needs something to smooth it out.

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