DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here: "For Mac" by Jack Spicer Originally read: May 12, 2013 More information about the Poet: Jack Spicer This is an elegy.  The references to death are high, but the execution of how death is looked at shifts with each line.  I feel this poem is dependent on line breaks. I guess a little on line breaks.  When I think of line breaks, the usual stance is to break ideas to either over emphasize the last word or the beginning word.  Both would be great, but over doing emphasis, perhaps, could unfocus the poem.  However, every line here shifts the focus of death and the personal. The first line, visually, focuses on a dead starfish on the beach, then on the five branches -- then the speaker does away with subtle metaphor and goes direct with, "Representing the five senses / Representing the jokes we did not tell each other." Past me wrote, "5 jokes,"  and still, I find the line wonky.  However, it's not the actual that's ...