I found an interesting poem today.

So I've been thinking a lot about electronic access to literature since I've been reading Murakami on my Kindle. I read a great deal on my phone. My sister, Asli, has (completely accidentally) helped me to push past my audio-book blocks and I've been enjoying listening to audiobooks and podcasts more than ever--both through my phone, through the wireless connections all over my house, etc.

It was weird to have reached a point in my life where I was completely techy, yet absolutely in resistance to it simultaneously. I'm still there, but I've been learning to find the joy in the connections again, rather than the shackles. Getting away from Facebook for the past few weeks again (indefinitely--the freedom is delicious) has probably helped that quite a bit.

So one thing I've been enjoying is finding interesting poetry and artwork online--not just by folks who I love, but by folks whose work I don't know much or anything about. Discovering a new literary friend. I haven't been following The Storialist, but I do believe I'll start. This is an interesting poem, based on artwork. The couplets are quite effectively and beautifully employed here. The moments they capture, the litany of them, the rhythm. Nice. Enjoy!

The Storialist: Slow Yes

(inspired by--Slow Yes, by Matt Bollinger)


Let the objects and locations
around you grow stranger.

Let the road smack your foot
in the jaw when the cobblestone

is higher than you expected.
May the branches corkscrew

and twist as they reach away
from the trees that own them.

May you, a pedestrian, gesture
to cars to allow them to turn.

Doesn’t the insurance company
look bewitching in her bricks.

Doesn’t the nude light bulb
in the third floor of the vacant

building gleam with good health.
Keep trying tomato juice and olives

and whiskey (not together) in case
your taste buds reupholster themselves.

Keep hold of the year you were
born so you always know your age.

by Hannah Stephenson