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The "What"

In the style of Alice Notley. 

 What are you in love with? What. Not
who. Who implies a face, a name, a some
body. What. What turned that lump of flesh
into a beating heart?
It can't be a mantra of "because I told you so's" & norms & have to's.
It must be an endless list
of want to's & need to's & the slightest of inflections &
feelings beyond what can be encompassed in a he/she/it/they/them
Or even us.
That is the meaning of the "what".
It surpasses the who's & how's.
It is the what.
It is the dichotomy of never understanding why,
but knowing that it's right all the same.

Comments

  1. Honey RogoffMarch 1, 2020 at 6:29 PM

    I really like how this poem makes you reevaluate your emotions. It's not really enough to stop at "who", there's something else behind that. I think the line breaks are very interestingly placed. It made me pace myself more when reading rather than reading each line as a sentence. It gives a slight feeling of quick breaths but more than that it makes me comprehend the message better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SophiaMarch 4, 2020 at 6:58 PM

    I absolutely adore this poem. We briefly mentioned this in class, but the "unapologetic" tone of the piece, coupled with the intentional ambiguity injected into the speaker's tone, make for a captivating read! You did a really good job of capturing and expressing the imperfection and sense of confusion/ "amorphousness" that often accompany falling in love. Personally, I wouldn't change much, as I thought you've done a wonderful job with this piece. My only recommendation is to change how you've divided the first and second lines (to make the piece start off more smoothly):
    "What are you in love with? What. Not who.
    Who implies a face, a name, a some body"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Professor MillerMarch 10, 2020 at 3:38 PM

    I'm delighted to note that this poem has now been published on our class website, 215Lexicon!

    ReplyDelete

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