Original poem reprinted online here: "Number 20" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti Originally read: October 9, 2013 More information about the Poet: Lawrence Ferlinghetti This poem has elements of E.E. Cummings with the compound words like "pennycandystore" and the adjusted alignment. But these techniques add to the core of the poem of "childhood." The pennycandystore beyond the El is where I first fell in love with unreality The poem starts out with a narrative hook of "first love" but then that hook is dashed away with "unreality" and so the poem goes towards a a surreal effect, "Jelly beans glowed in the semi-gloom / of that septemeber afternoon / A cat upon the counter moved among" and here with these lines there's an added sense of ambiance. Something bright in the bland...
Formerly the RetailMFA, This is the Poetry Blog of Darrell Dela Cruz