"Today," says the amazing Maureen over at Na/GloPoWriMo, "we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that stretches your comfort zone with line breaks. That could be a poem with very long lines, or very short lines. Or a poem that blends the two." Well, that got me thinking about line breaks (duh; it was supposed to!), and not only from the point of view of the poet but from that of one who has occasion to make chapbooks for people and sometimes has to wrestle with long, long lines and how best to present them.
But first...
Today is our last day in paradise for the season.
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| First thing this morning we went to Pedro's |
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| for a last freshly-squeezed orange juice and to watch for a few minutes as waves crashed |
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| and beach vendors arrived to set up their wares. |
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| We're headed north this afternoon. No more buzzing around town in a golf cart. No more amazing fresh seafood. No more not being cold. |
We All Need A Break
Line breaks. Those pesky, wonderful things
one can go on and on about ad infinitum (add boredom)
how they bring joy to the poem by assisting the reader
a how-to manual
built right into
the words
but if you've ever tried to lay out a poem
and the poet's given you a line that reads like
Brave Sir Robin about to throw wide his arms so he can sing, only to be shouted down with fury and impunity
or perhaps another where
the speaker's beloved denies the obvious which is that he put the plastic bag full of cookie crumbs in the bag basket you got at the beach four years ago that looks like it should have a cobra in it and now the crumbs are all over the floor
Gimme a break! I say
gimme two or three, come to that
after I study the poem
—and I do—
I point out the difficulties
of too narrow margins and too small font size
beg for a couple of breaks
assure it doesn't change the meaning of the song the poet's singing
demonstrate
how white space
serves to amplify the silence of a pause
the breath you don't remember taking in
until you let it go
§
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