Talk to me about your use of italics in this beautiful poem. I’m hearing this has something to do with your relationship to music and the investment one makes in being an active and accommodating listener in general.

I’m looking forward to the discussion of this piece and to the next one as well. From New Brunswick, Canada. – José

This poem is thought provoking and very well written. Seems like a personification of your stream of consciousness. You artfully walk us through how you produced this very product. Beginning with a lack of words or not enough apt words to illustrate your idea–> finding alluring, yet superficial content –>reaching a groove in the process, but still longing for substance/quality (the poem itself speaking to you)–>concerns with vulnerability reflected in the piece–> and eventually just letting go…and arriving at a resonant message……stark, naked, simple, but with great potential to impinge on the mind. Lovely…..

I wanted to write my questions in separate post:

1. Can you talk about your use of the word “copperheads” and “slinking”…..in my mind you conjured up an image of snakes, but I want to know what your intentions were in deliberately choosing those terms.
2. “I tunes to a muse” can be read in several different ways: (1) I (myself) tunes (incorrect grammer, but) to a muse (2) I tunes to amuse (3) itunes to amuse (4) itunes to a muse etc etc. I read it the third way, but would love to hear your thoughts on the “proper” reading
3. Can you speak generally about the narration and your choice of pronouns? For instance “…WE wanted more”, but “…I gave her a piece of mine”. You switch from collaborative to individualized are you suggesting something here? What does this mean?

I read the poem aloud to myself twice to let it sink in and to let the words resonate. What speaks to me here is the idea that there is something inherently erotic about creation, and I use “erotic” rather that “sensual” because throughout there is a sense of anticipation — of pending domination but also communion. The “broke” “I” is willing to “scrounge around” in an attempt to put together enough currency; the hands “groove” over hills, they trace but should do more — ever reaching. Will the “I” get what it’s after? Does it even know what it wants (that a picture was the first goal says something about the visible vs. the invisible). I see a tension between the surface and depth — what can be perceived, touched, traced (the cheap thrill, which provides no real satisfaction) versus getting “at the core,” “needing a home.” The peace/piece of my mind in the fifth stanza made me think back to the copper heads (which I read as pennies), so I could almost hear coins jingling. Currency is only valuable if we believe it can get us something we want. Which reminds me, your use of “cost” instead of “worth” in the first stanza got me thinking about value vs. putting a price on something… what it means to do that… With the Adam and Eve of the final stanza I thought of her being made from his rib (an inner part of himself). She is his partner, yet someone who he will ultimately be unable to control (kinda like this poem, now out of your hands, speaks to each of its readers in its own way). I read your commentary and I like the play on man/woman, writer/poem. If I were teaching this poem I would ask my students how they felt about the gendering — Lauren’s body standing in for the poem as something to touch and reach for, while the male “I” gives his mind, but what about his body? His nakedness? His vulnerability? Very rich poem. Good stuff.