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Commentary
This poem has been percolating for several days. It addresses my growing recognition that poetry is physical, not just intellectual. That means two things:
1) the POET must choose words and rhythms that are fun, pleasing, or soothing to read out loud.
2) the poetry READER must be enticed to read the words out loud; sub-vocalization works for some, but it’s not ideal.
A Little More
I think I’m making a little progress in #1 from above. It’s a bit like long-distance running. You run for weeks and months and then one day you seem to have found a new gear. It may not show up in times; you may not win more races. But you definitely feel it. In the case of poetry, your brain just lands more easily on choice words, phrases, and metaphors.
In case it didn’t occur to you, “carry food to upper floors” in the second stanza is a picture of writing for the mind only, a merely intellectual exercise. It parallels “tickle only the brain” in the first stanza.
So, do you read poetry out loud? Did my poem encourage you to keep at it?
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