Friday, April 2, 2010

Regular White Paper


Regular white paper
gives away nothing,
sets no mood or tone.
It is as quiet as January,
essential as bone.
It is exacting.
It softens nothing.
Offers neither protection for prose
nor solace for syntax.
It terrifies the imagined
into real shape and size.
Unpitying, it pushes
the poem
toward new, unblinking eyes.
Today's napowrimo prompt asked us to visit acronymattic and use one of the acronyms for Read Write Poem (RWP) as inspiration for today's poem. Hence, I wrote a poem about regular white paper.

16 comments:

  1. hi erin, yes, it's almost frightening tho challenging... i loved it all but thought as quiet as january most perfect... not far from spokane, just a bit due east cda, idaho... it's snowing today... burrrr.... monster moves

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  2. Thanks, one more believer! I teach in CDA at NIC, so I spend five days a week in your neck of the woods.

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  3. 'quiet as January' is just gorgeous.

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  4. I love that simile, too! And the eyes at the end!

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  5. Hi, Erin. "essential as bone" nice, no bones about it. Thanks for your kind comment at www.gregoconnell.com You might also enjoy "Avid readers", the latest post. =)

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  6. I really like the idea of the paper doing the "pushing" here... well done!

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  7. This is wonderful. I love the line "It terrifies the imagined into real shape and size". And of course the January line is beautiful.
    xoxo

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  8. Man, this is the third blog I've visited that someone already made the exact comment I was going to make...

    I adore the "quiet as January" line.

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  9. "Unpitying" ~ great way to describe the intimidation of the blank page :-)

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  10. . . . and the sibilant "nor solace for syntax" . . .

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  11. "terrifies the imagined" is great. This poem is great.
    I signed onto the challenge on Apr. 2 thinking I could catch up and give it a go, but I haven't returned. I will, though, (not catch up, but return) as I want to use it to stir what might be inside - with no intentions of posting...poetry isn't in me the way it once was...

    Thanks for your visits. That book is one of my favorites and I think you would love it too.

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  12. oh, I love it!
    especially "essential as bone"

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  13. Great description of regular white paper. It is quiet as January and maybe smothering too, this blanket of white.

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