[1618] Poem for Everyone

Guest poem sent in by Ramesh MV <MV.Ramesh@>

I will present you
parts
of
my
self
slowly
if you are patient and tender.
I will open drawers
that mostly stay closed
and bring out places and people and things
sounds and smells,
loves and frustrations,
hopes and sadnesses,
bits and pieces of three decades of life
that have been grabbed off
in chunks
and found lying in my hands.
they have eaten
their way into my memory,
carved their way into
my heart.
altogether
- you or i will never see them -
they are me.
if you regard them lightly,
deny that they are important
or worse, judge them
i will quietly, slowly,
begin to wrap them up,
in small pieces of velvet,
like worn silver and gold jewelry,
tuck them away
in a small wooden chest of drawers

and close.

   -- John T. Wood

      1974

I am not a big connoisseur of poetry, and often have difficulty
distinguishing poetry from prose masquerading as poetry just because one
sentence is in many lines. (Btw, I would love it if someone could actually
tell me how to make this distinction). This poem actually struck me because
of the wonderful use of space. The choice of word-line placement is
remarkable - it actually slowed down my reading speed and made me pause at
times... if not for content, but only for structure and presentation, this
is one of the better poems that I have come across.

Regards,

Ramesh MV

[Links]

Some reviews:
  http://www.uiowa.edu/uiowapress/wooinpri.htm

I couldn't find a biography online; if you have a link to one please post it.

[this poem is archived, accessible and awaiting your comments at]
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1618.html
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