Poem of the Week: 6.22.23

"Unopened on the Bookshelf"

UNOPENED ON THE BOOKSHELF

by Ricky Novaes de Oliveira

Catapults and Itineraries / Name as Sundae 
In Menage of Brilliance & Vamp / Lust Pokes

Lung Problems / Catalogues and Itches 
Caterwauls at the Jack-in-the-Box / Mutilation as Syndication 

Mutt as Summing-up / Inside of Blues & Yeses 
Luring Pogrom / Catch and Release 

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Thank you for reading the Poem of the Week!

We’re in my laboratory this week, experimenting with wordplay. I took a list of “Books to Read” on my phone, jammed it into the old N+1 generator, and compiled. Let’s lean into some absurdity.

Starting with strange and stark language, the poem “catapults” into the unknown and seemingly illogical. “Pokes” and “itches” give a sense of something churning inside the poem, but the walls are up. It’s hard to make any sense of the poem—and that’s the point. Sense-making “lures” frustration and impatience, only for the poem to end.

Language has a way of “catching” our attention, but understanding often requires the “release” of usual reason. Ignorance is bliss, and there’s always more to read.

Summering, Ricky