Half-starved Poems
Punctuated poetry
with arbitrary line breaks
is like prose poured into
a little black dress
Every period that stops
where a line already has
is a button waiting to pop
Every comma that dangles
at the edge of empty space
is a thread that could lead
to unraveling
Every new line capitalized
in the middle of a sentence
is a zipper that won’t go up
With every start and stall
I become hungry for prose
I want a full page to read
without a stutter
___________Colleen Redman / Poets United
– Read “Please Don’t Punctuate This” HERE.
July 1st, 2018 8:46 am
Am going to think of that little black dress every time I write with those arbitrary line breaks…and I have a lot of that. Just need to find those high heels!
July 1st, 2018 9:50 am
It’s the button-popping period and the dangling-comma thread that will stay with me when I read poetry. Thanks, Colleen, for such beautiful lines and such fine imagining. I’ll be smiling all day. 😀
July 1st, 2018 9:56 am
Very well put!!
July 1st, 2018 10:03 am
Love the title and the image of a little dress barely containing the abundant flesh of a poem. Alas! I’m a punctuation fanatic, trying to escape the tyranny of the comma, the period, and the em dash. Currently having a crush on semicolons…
July 1st, 2018 10:09 am
What a very cool metaphor. I love it!
July 1st, 2018 10:11 am
Or simile / analogy. Just very cool! Smiles.
July 1st, 2018 10:41 am
This was a fresh unique way of writing – I smiled through the whole thing.
July 1st, 2018 12:05 pm
Love this take on poetry… sometimes I have to
think
about line-breaks and sometimes about commas
July 1st, 2018 12:17 pm
Loved this! And love how you speak to this issue–funny how we think about poetry sometime–
July 1st, 2018 1:22 pm
It would indeed be welcoming to read poetry without having to focus on punctuation.. ?
July 1st, 2018 1:33 pm
Love the freedom of this.
Unfortunately punctuation is my commander…
Anna :o]
July 1st, 2018 5:10 pm
I agree. Sometimes I do crave prose with its consistent punctuation and regular paragraphs. Smiles. Each stanza is VERY creative – really a gem of a poem to read this summer afternoon.
July 1st, 2018 8:44 pm
This is a great metaphor! 🙂
July 1st, 2018 8:59 pm
Haha… take a shot of Blue Ridge whiskey and write~ forgetting all that sh*t. You’re an awesome writer. in my opinion. (advice to the character in your piece).
July 1st, 2018 10:35 pm
OK, but please let me have commas in a line where the meaning changes
July 1st, 2018 10:43 pm
I’m laughing. Maybe you should turn to Moby Dick. That would cure your hankering for prose quickly, I think. 🙂
July 2nd, 2018 1:02 am
I become hungry for prose
I want a full page to read
without a stutter
It gets boring if given the same thing every time. It life variety is desired!
Hank
July 2nd, 2018 1:32 am
I love the title, Colleen, and the image of ‘prose poured into / a little black dress’ with buttons waiting to pop will stay with me!
An enjoyable extended metaphor.
July 2nd, 2018 10:59 pm
Love this analogy, especially the little black dress!
July 3rd, 2018 9:31 pm
Ha! Great metaphors.
July 4th, 2018 1:54 am
I love this! I might share it with my writer’s group. Thank you!