Árni Ibsen wrote:
>
> on 3/4/03 1:18 AM, Frederick Pollack at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > Árni Ibsen wrote:
> >>
> >> About four or five years ago I had the pleasure of visiting Genoa for a
> >> hectic and sleepless weekend in early February, while my own house up here
> >> was more or less submerged in snow and caught in the harsh arms of a
> >> blizzard. It was a very inspiring mid-winter visit (as any Italian visit),
> >> in spite of its brevity, which prompted several very short and totally
> >> impossible poems. Here's one, written on realizing while on the chilly beach
> >> just south of Genoa that Ezra's home was just beyond the hills. (at the time
> >> I was holding my mobile phone close to the small breaking waves for my wife
> >> to hear at home)...
> >>
> >> RAPALLO BEYOND THE HILL
> >>
> >> stone's throw
> >> nearly
> >> from yr past
> >> present my yoke
> >>
> >> Best
> >>
> >> Árni
> >>
> >
> > Lovely poem. But isn't it cheating to count the syllables of the title?
> > - FP
>
> Thanks for the response, Frederick. I honestly didn't count the syllables
> until after you alerted me to do it. In fact the title was originally
> longer, i.e.: SOUTH OF GENOA, RAPALLO BEYOND THE HILLS. But the mere notion
> of having a title that vied with the poem itself for length made me cut it
> down to size. Come to think of it, it may not need a title at all ... no?
>
> Best
>
> Árni
>
>
The title anchors it. The effect without the title is quite different,
more gnomic, perhaps more haunting, leaves the reader wanting more - not
of this poem, but a sequence of similar poems.
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