Ridding my poetry of the explanatory “becausing” consists of using my backspace button often. I’m not sure where the style came from, but I often use a lofty and archaic diction in my poetry. I don’t aim to sound Victorian, nor do I aim to sound contemporary and modern, but I definitely like the rhythm of my poetry once I remove “because,” “since,” “whereas,” and the like. Though I like the way “thus” sounds, the word is nothing more than an ornament. Aside from rhythm, it brings nothing to my writing. I am sacrificing those words while trying to find other words in order to maintain the same rhythm. The goal of workshop for me is ridding my work of words that merely take up space. There is a different between my poetry and my literary criticism, so I need to put more effort into making that contrast apparent. I find that my poetry hits harder when I remove “is like” and qualifiers that I use out of comfort. I never use qualifiers out of purpose or intent. Basically, I need to become more aware of how I write and the words I use.
Language Mixology Half brother of the same halves, simulacra is fancy for “absent.” Like banging means “good” or off the chain means “good.” The same way off the hook forgets the phone, I’m forgetting the space between Oregon and North Carolizzay, daylight savings time and the addition of the “-izzay.” So silly that suffix, verbed blackface for black folks. ----------------------------------- Halfrican Brothers Keep Trying To Out Do Me Halfrican brothers keep trying to out do me, Blending their jaw line blackface. “Does that make you feel more black?” I’d say yes, if I knew that “black” Wasn’t the absence of white, The refusal to speak the King’s English. I’m remembering that black points, Though hard to come by, make all the difference Between grape drink and some opposite, Pants on the ground and some opposite, For non black folks.
Comments