~Jean Biden
For Poetry Friday, a poem in honor of a genuine public servant, someone I am rooting for with my whole heart.
Stutter
by Adam Giannelli
since I couldn't say tomorrow
I said Wednesday
since I couldn't say Cleveland I said
Ohio
since I couldn't say hello
I hung up
since I couldn't say burger
a waitress finished
my sentence
a green-striped mint
dissolved
on my tongue
from peacock to dove
since I couldn't say my name
I opened
as if preparing for a throat
culture
since I couldn't say my name
I sat there...
read the rest here
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I sent some zines to Rebecca Herzog recently because I know Becky enjoys them. Afterward, I decided to make a printable one of my poem Acceptance. I colored mine, but it is just black and white if you print it out. (Here's the original post about the poem.)
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Beyond Literacy Link has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Carol!
P.S. I received a robot postcard from Laura Shovan today. Are you familiar with Laura's robots? They are works of love.
13 comments:
Tabatha, in reading the Giannelli poem, I realized how difficult it is for students who stutter. It is not that they lack intelligence. It is stumbling block in social contexts. When finishing the poem, I read the reflection from the author and this struck me, "I wanted to broaden the poem to show how we all negotiate our way through words." Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece and for offering your Acceptance poem/sine for all of us. I think this linked quite well with the poem.
Dear Tab, you show us such treasures -- I am in love with the Giannelli poem! Love what he says about it, too Will revisit. And of course you made zines and sent them to Becky because she likes them. You are JOY. xo
Yes, a JOY you are. I didn't make it even a few lines into this poem before tearing up. It is raw and brilliant and beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing it, and GO, JOE, too!
In my limited experience, the poem speaks truth. I had one student with a stutter, Tabatha, & it is interesting to me that he told me his speech therapist suggested that he find alternate words when speaking. Like Carol, I too liked the poet's afterword bringing how all of us bring word choices into our lives. Beauitful zine, lucky Becky! Thank you!
This poem is SO good. Thanks for sharing it. I am rooting for Joey with all my heart too.
Oh, my goodness. We had one daughter in speech therapy for years (not a stutter, but still resonates so much); my sister had a stroke at age 50 and still goes to speech therapy; and my 87-year-old father is starting to lose his language a bit. I don't know who I am without words, and this poem just hit me hard.
I think Giannelli's comments on his poem are brave and fascinating. I felt parts of the poem like,
"since I couldn't say hello
I hung up"
may describe how he feels with breaks in his own speech. I loved the wordplay at the end of his poem–it's playful. Thanks, Tabatha, and lets help Joe, Go!
Thank you, Tabatha for the bounty that is this post. Giannelli's poem stirred my heart especially this line, "I said, all aboard". I say all aboard, too, for our next President, Joey. ;)
Thank you for the printable of Acceptance - I'm going to share it with my daughter.
I love your Zines and want to encourage my students to make them. The stutter poem touches my heart. I've been losing words lately. Crap, I was getting my eyes checked and said "Five" when I saw R. Where did that come from? At least the doctor is around my age, so he had a sense of humor about it. Thanks for all that you share. I'm always inspired!
Thank you for sharing this poem. I enjoyed it and the poet's commentary on writing it.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful poem, Tabatha. The poet's comments were both revealing and inspiring.
Oh my. This poem opens your eyes to a whole new understanding of frustration. I have had my issues with a lisp - so could relate on some levels. But appreciate being drawn into Gianelli's world, so that I can understand more.
What a stunning and touching poem. I enjoyed reading his commentary, too, and especially liked what he said near the end, about how we all "negotiate our way through words."
Reading "Acceptance" felt a little surreal, even though it was composed only five months ago. The beginning of these pandemic days....
Here's hoping that genuine public servant is elected, thus ending the current nightmare of a so-called administration.
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