Author’s Note
There are lines
squiggly and bent
to separate and enfold
One’s words told
for others to behold.
There are lines
blocked straight
that conceal internal thoughts
secured and unrevealed.
There are lines I speak
when spoken to others
that provoke a response:
What say you, Kevin.
Do you need to amend
your thoughtless words?
Come now, Judge,
Be not the harbinger
of heartless words.
Only to return to private thoughts.
Please consider the following words: our hour aspire
For too many years, I have agonized over the syllabication of these words and other similar phonetically structured ones. Poetically, I count syllables, and have wavered between counting, ‘our’ as having one or two syllables.
My natural sensibilities, freed from academic pundits, push me to make my count of ‘our’ as two syllables just as ‘ginger’ is two. Thus ‘aspire’ is three, not two, syllables.
It is the subtlety of pronunciation. ‘Ginger’ according to my dictionary splits the two syllables into: ‘gin’ and ‘ger’. No problem given the rules taught to me and enforced by the Roman Catholic nuns of my elementary school. Here is the kick. The phonetic spelling of ‘ginger’, according to my dictionary is ‘jinjer’ is divided as ‘jin’ / ‘jer’. Unfortunately, I do not believe that is how the word is pronounced in the common tongue. My natural tendency is to say, “jinj / ‘er’ because ‘er’ is the dominate sound. Therefore, the word ‘our’ has two equally strong sounds: ‘ou’ (as in the word “ow”) and ‘er’ as in “water” without the ‘t’.
Needless to say, this is probably argumentative. However I am hence forth counting ‘our’ as two syllables and ‘aspire’ as three, etcetera.
Preface
In the year twenty twenty,
I, Marlo, steered attention
to a lengthy tale
of confusion and some fear,
illusions and facts
and human acts that would show
possibilities hidden
that sow desires,
companionship in fierce feuds
between enemies
and young lovers quivering
for warmth, kindness, and freedom.
Come, hear and adhere
to creativity’s force
to course through rock
or infuse warm, perfumed air
with fragrant, healthy pleasure.