Once we leave a place it is there
— from “And Sing We”
Today’s read: Under Flag by Myung Mi Kim – Kelsey St. Press, 1991
When I go to poetry readings I am always listening for variance in tone, diction, pace of the spoken word. When this combination happens then my next thought is to wonder how this looks on the page. I imagine poets as musicians who follow the sheet music of the page to let their voices be an orchestra.
Under Flag is full of space for the lines of poetry to breath. This also gave me a chance to respond to some of the stanza blocks. The place this collection brought me to was that space of migration I have questioned before.
Why was I migrated?
Is it ok to be disappointed in migration?
Is it ok to be disappointed in my parents for migrating me?
I am not going to get these answers from any one poem or collection of poems. But a good collection that knows how to work silence and space as a poetic tool can begin a ritual of asking and then leave you to a find a place to practice waiting.