The Three I Never Knew
I.
Lemongrass, Shelly, lemongrass.
Lemongrass ingratiates if you go towards underworlds.
It is teflon Shelly it is teflon. Polytetrafluoroethylene Shelly.
Do not go the way of the weaker go the way of the weaker if you go that way is not the way.
Rub thyme leaves Shelly your needy leaves lips.
Slipping into your thyme leaves. So slip.
Thyme leaves are solid and when sold sold becomes shoelace strings.
A rabid meadow. A rabid meadow is ending of medication time. Quivering medication.
It will twinkle your twinkie Shelly it will twinkle clown you.
Twinkie organs bust in porcelain icons. Icons can chrome Shelly.
Corn canister. Homeland security nickels. Isotope candy. Watermusic. Sword openings.
You open them all when you open them all.
II.
It is L.
When it is la la la la la.
You are a la.
Why are you la.
La la la.
Statistically a blue la la.
Prickly blue bow rainbow.
Tow a toe on brow below.
Boing.
La la la la la.
Not a peach or impeach in peace.
Research a piece of peace in piece peach please.
La la la la la.
III.
It should be aptly put cupcake.
Cupcake cupcake cupcake.
It should always be solely because it waters tersely.
Cupcake ache awake. Do not awake the wit will pop lucid.
Glow swim swim. Swim it is a whim.
Brittle birds alone.
Bit around strongly. Bite it bite it bite it.
You are because it is a knot. Or are you not you are not.
Bite it bite it bite it.
You are caught unless you are not caught you are not.
Comment by classmate:
ReplyDeleteStacey, I think you captured the essence of Gertrude Stein superbly in your poem. First off, I think that having the different section in the poem, just like Stein’s poems Ladies’ Voices and Yet Dish really helped in capturing an important quality of Stein. Although Ladies’ Voices was separated into different scenes and Yet Dish had so very many sections with small stanzas, you did not imitate either exactly. You kind of took from each poem and then mixed a little of your own style in with it.
I really liked the way you placed unrelated topics next to each other in your poem, just as Stein does in hers. I could, however, catch a bit more narrative than I could detect in Stein’s poems. I agree with you (from the comment you left on my poem) that it is far enough into the semester that we are seeing different poetic styles in our classmates, and I definitely see the ability to narrate beautifully in your poetry.
I also liked that each section in your poem was not related to the other sections. This is very Gertrude Steinesque. Also, the different length of the lines reminds me of Stein. Most of your lines are end stopped, although a few of them are enjambed, which is also another similarity to the Stein poems we have read.
The aspect of this poem that jumped out at me the most was the repetition you used. I think the repetition in this poem works perfectly with the style and the rest of the language you use. You repeat words over and over again, and yet each time I read the word it is still interesting. This is something I sense in Stein’s poetry and it is so hard to accomplish. I tried to incorporate repetition in my poem and found a lot of difficulty; it is hard to use repetition without taking away from the meaning and essence of the poem. Often you repeat a line, but when you write it again you change just a few things about it. This really kept me interested while I was reading the poem, and allowed for so many more interpretations for the words and their placement. I especially liked the repetition on the section II.
Speaking of section II, that was my favorite part of your poem. The varied line lengths, the assonance and consonance, the language, the images, and, of course, the repetition really melded together in harmony. The way you started with simply the letter L and then brought the reader into the “la la la” of the section was so intriguing. You interspersed “La” in the sections at the perfect times. When I read through this section, I wanted to read it aloud just so that I could hear the “La la la la” roll of my tongue. Also, you asked questions without the use of question marks, with immediately brought my mind to Gertrude Stein and her view on grammar.
The first sections seems the most narrative-like and seems more like a Stacey style than a Stein style. As I read through the poem, each stanza brought me more and more into the world of Stein. With each line, you became more confident to break away from your style and explore the inaneness of Stein’s style. I could feel you getting better at capturing the style of Stein as I read through the poem. This was really interesting, since I have been reading poems you have written this semester and feel that I somewhat can spot some traits of your style. Having read Stein’s poems and feeling a bit of a better understanding of Stein’s view and her life, it was really fun for me to be able to point of where I saw that you poem was similar to Stein’s style and where I spotted similarities with your own style. I was able to learn a lot about reading poetry through reading this poem, so thank you!
Comment by classmate:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this poem. It was a bit challenging because of the really unique wordplay, but the challenge of the poem also gave the poem its beauty. It really read like a Stein poem, and worked the imagination to the point of almost overload. The alliteration and repetition of words really gave this poem life. I really like the demands in the poem, for example "Research a piece of peace in piece peach please." I feel like the interpretation of these kind of demands is almost personal, yet there still lies a correctness or right feeling over top the lines. The combination of words transcends its written content. Very skillful and intelligent writing. I greatly enjoyed this. Each stanza was wild, and the title of the poem fits the poem perfectly. GREAT Job :)
Comment by instructor:
ReplyDeleteWonderful comments, Maya! It's wonderful how you can identify Stacey's style!
And I agree--you have really captured Stein's personal poetics. How she views language is quite unique, and you really nailed down the idea of that nouns, or names, are temporary ideas about the meaning of an object. This is extremely apparent in part II, as you start with "L" as a letter, then a sound "la".
I think this has been a great exercise for you, and I really have to say that there are moments in this poem that are my favorite out of all your poems. You have some amazing lines, which not only speak to importance of sound in poetry, but the importance of meaning as an agent of mobility in our thinking and writing about the world:
--Lemongrass ingratiates if you go towards underworlds.
--It is teflon Shelly it is teflon. Polytetrafluoroethylene Shelly.
--Do not go the way of the weaker go the way of the weaker if you go that way is not the way.
--Rub thyme leaves Shelly your needy leaves lips.
--Slipping into your thyme leaves. So slip.
--Thyme leaves are solid and when sold sold becomes shoelace strings.
--A rabid meadow is ending of medication time.
--It will twinkle your twinkie Shelly it will twinkle clown you.
--Twinkie organs bust in porcelain icons.
--Corn canister. Homeland security nickels. Isotope candy. Watermusic. Sword openings.
--You open them all when you open them all.
--You are a la.
--Statistically a blue la la.
--Research a piece of peace in piece peach please.
--It should be aptly put cupcake.
--It should always be solely because it waters tersely.
--Do not awake the wit will pop lucid.
--Swim it is a whim.
---Bite it bite it bite it.
--You are caught unless you are not caught are you not.