Blank space or room for interpretation

April 13th, 2023

Me up at does

out of the floor
quietly Stare

a poisoned mouse

still who alive

is asking What
have i done that

You wouldn’t have

(Me up at does)
e.e. cummings

Words are important, but sometimes what is left unsaid is more crucial to make a point. Syntax and grammar are needed as well —or so we were taught. Or

maybe not — as shown above — and we were taught wrong.

This lot might not be necessary when a blank space left by an author and the intuition of a reader can be put together to work and create an experience. And experience is renewed by each reading.

Each interpretation is as valid as the previous one and as important as the next one. And there will be a new one with each time this poem is read.

There is no possibility to better show horror in/of the simplicity of nature. A few words scattered within a few verses will do better than voluminous books with proper grammar and syntax.

Because (if we want to) we fill the blank spaces left by the poet with our thoughts and reflections and internal understanding. Each word and each verse is only a starting point.

And the beauty of poetry is that there is no wrong interpretation or possibility of misunderstanding of a poem — don't let the jaded teachers or moldy scholars tell you otherwise.

Once committed to writing, once on the page — or even still in words clumsily presented — a poem becomes a gift to and the property of a recipient. It becomes ours to see each one as we see fit.

I like gifts and receive them with gladness and unsatiable greed for more.