Grammar Lesson...I Think Not!
Previously, I discussed how poets can turn readers onto another perspective regarding a given topic. The poem I selected from Poet Lore's Summer 2007 issue highlights another quality of poetry--the imagination.
"On the Origin of Punctuation Marks" by Elizabeth Klise von Zerneck, the poet postulates how punctuation came to be as we know it. As a writer, I fully understand the power of words, but without punctuation, much of each word's emphasis could be lost in breath. Klise von Zerneck suggests these punctuation marks fell from trees, like branches, bark, or acorns would, and bent or rolled upon hitting the ground.
As the poet discusses the random ways in which these marks are shaped by the environment into which they fell, the reader can picture the periods, question marks, and exclamation points as much more than grammatical elements. "The bent twigs paused, and wavered, caught against/" and "pods burrowed deep, and deeper, then reversed/ and grew up toward the sky...some straight as reeds/" Too many of us forget the beauty of punctuation, not only as a means to provide meaning and power behind our words, but also as aesthetic adornment on the page.
So ends my grammar lesson.
Copyright of Serena M. Agusto-Cox at Savvy Verse & Wit 2007-2010. This is not original content, this content is owned and copyrighted by Serena M. Agusto-Cox