Sometimes a poem speaks personally, and I'd like to share one of those today with you. I have discovered a new poet, at least new to me. His name is Ben Mirov who has published several full-length poem /books and chapbooks and currently heads the PEN Poetry Series. I've found that I like some of his other poems too, some also found at the Poets.org page. His books are full-length poems that I haven't read. I am wondering what you think of this poem. It touches me each time I read it.
Mirov's poem is titled Black Glass Soliloquy and begins:
There is nothing in my head today.
I think about you everyday.
head full of blckkk glsss
My head full of bllllk sound.
I think about you every day.
I travel in my love for you.
And the rest is at Poets.org.
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| ocean love - 2011 |
"I hang you in my head today."
ReplyDeleteOh, this touches me too. There is something so private in the fact that we cannot read the poem aloud, almost as if we are thinking the (sad) thoughts too...
Thanks Amy. I hadn't thought about the privacy of reading only with the eyes. Interesting observation.
DeleteI like parts of this one, but I found it unsettling, too. That can be a good thing. I think I'll have to come back to it several times--it didn't reach me emotionally the first time. Thanks for sharing it--it's good to be challenged in my reading! (Might want to share the direct link to the rest of the poem? http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23126 I had to search for it on poets.org)
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura, I put the link with the title, but not with the Poets.org, so now put it with both. I am challenged by this, but feel part of it too. Glad you are thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a strange one.
ReplyDeleteMy first impressions: black signifying an utter nothingness, dark recesses of the mind, futility of communication. "Glass" feels impenetrable and cold, and because the word "soliloquy" is in the title, I feel the narrator is stuck in his head, only his thoughts constantly bouncing back or being mirrored, a feeling of being isolated or trapped.
"I think about you every day," has a longing about it -- is this grief or unrequited love? Is the narrator thinking about himself or someone else?
What to make of the unintelligible words that echo the "black glass?" The breakdown of communication? Unlike a window, you cannot look through a glass that is blackened.
Thought-provoking for sure. It's great to shake up one's thinking and perceptions sometimes. Thanks for sharing this unusual poem and introducing us to Mirov's work. I see him as the equivalent of an abstract painter.
Jama, thank you for responding with various ideas. The futility of communication is certainly part of what I see. I am much taken by it.
DeleteI read this and immediately called Shawn in the room to read it too. Wow, we both LOVE it! Thank you for sharing this great find and, also new to us, poet.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betsy. It is so interesting isn't it? Glad you both liked it!
DeleteWhat is the sensation of a soul abandoning itself to hopeless love? To disappointed love? To lost love? This poem must be it. I am captivated by its ingenuity, Linda - truly something powerful and different.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tara. I will continue to follow Mirov to see she he's up to. I've read the reviews of his books, they too sound interesting, but I just don't have the time right now. I loved this one immediately.
DeleteIt's interesting. Sometimes with a poem like that I need to read it a couple of times in different moods to get the feel of the poem.
ReplyDeleteI love the line "I ravel in my love for you." Neither revel nor unravel but ravel.
I love when someone works at a different approach, & this one certainly is one. Thanks Katya.
Delete(It must be a Google Chrome thing, Linda. I got through using Safari.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura. I would equate this to abstract art. I thought it was perfect for the YouTube on the Poets.org page to be silent. This seems to be a "describe what's in my head" kind of poem.
Thanks for trying again, Mary Lee. I've searched all over to see what might be the problem, & found nothing. I often forget about changing to another search platform. Yes, the poem is a soliloquy, blasting through the head, it seems.
DeleteHi Linda, I love how cryptic this poem is and how multiple shades can be deduced from it at one go - the beauty is in how you infuse it with meaning as based on your own experiences - or where you are in your life at that peculiar moment when you chance upon the "blckkk glsss" - it has moved me profoundly too - there is that playful aspect mixed with longing mixed with the desire to be distanced somehow (great points that Jama raised about the nature of glass and black). It mirrors exactly how I feel today. I shall find this poet and share him with a good friend.
ReplyDeleteIt was so very interesting to me when I came upon it, Myra. There is a personal part of it that tells me it's about my journey with my husband now, and also I loved that this poet took such a different look at words. I am enthralled!
DeleteI enjoyed reading everyone's comments along with the poem itself. I like Jama's way of probing the images, words, and concepts for meaning.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I like about such poetry is the way it opens my mind to possibilities of doing poetry differently. Like e.e. cummings way of using lower case letters and spacing, Mirov uses typographic symbols. Yes, it is like abstract art or modern music compositions.
Violet N.
Yes, Violet I agree so much that it is a unique approach to using words, really images, to communicate feelings. I love when someone does something new, at least in my knowledge, and celebrate their creativity. Thanks!
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