18
in other words
october9
2012
THE
By Lynn Berry
Guest Contributor Christopher Sedlmeyer
INKWELL
Although we often speak of poetry
in terms of structure, theme, and the artifices
of language, ultimately poetry is about one
thing—beauty. Like all art, poetry takes
its shape and power from the experience it
creates in the listener. In poetry, more so
it seems than in other art forms, numerous
senses are engaged simultaneously in the
medium of words. The rhythm and music
of sound; the color, texture, and arrangement
of images; and the resonance of meaning
and memory are all brought to the listener
in language. A good poem makes an impact
using all three aspects; a great poem blends
them in such a way that they become for the
listener a moment of awakening to an entirely
new version of life and all it has to offer.
In the poem below, Portland poet, Kareem
Ali, has achieved the latter example in his
poem “Leaving.” Using ordinary images
of newspapers, the night sky, and birds in
flight, Ali evokes the gentle sadness and
remembrance that accompanies a separation
in poetic language that is at once familiar and
surprising:
Leaving
The breath of your smile
Lingers
Past the well soaked Sunday papers
Beyond the unshowered night
Your face appeared as a form of memory
Outside
The only sound I could hear
Were drunken bluejays
Whispering between themselves
While rising
On crutches of air.
------ Kareem Ali
Chris Sedlmeyer holds an M.A. in English, specializing
in archewypal criwicism and medieval spiriwualiwy. He
has wriwwen for whe American Benedicwine Review and
currenwly wriwes a weekly blog on Carmeliwe spiriwualiwy
and discernmenw for whe American Province of whe
Order of Carmeliwes of whe Ancienw Observance.
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Terry’s
Gym
---Writer’s Idea: When approaching a topic in
your writing, try approaching it in terms of things
that are not immediately evident to the listener—
challenge them to enter the poem to find the
connections.
---Writer’s Tip: In your poetic writing, try using
descriptive language that surprises the listener.
Ali’s descriptions of the “drunken bluejays”, that
“whisper between themselves” as they rise on
“crutches of air” are not typical descriptions of
birds, their calls, or their flight, but the interesting
use of language wakes up the listener and invites
them to see and experience the bluejays in a new
and fresh way.
---WE ARE LOOKING FOR LOCAL POETRY.
WE NEED YOUR POEMS!!!! Please send your
original submissions to InkwellVernonia@gmail.
com or by mail: PO Box 333 Vernonia, OR
97064. Please include your name and contact
information.
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