un-entitled

I seem to have written a small book of poems in the last few weeks - maybe - there's a touch over 40 pages worth. All done in the thin cracks of a very busy time - I made myself do it.

But the problem is, none of the poems have titles. One almost did but the title came down into the poem. Now, I've always been someone who'd said that titles are important, as important as the poem in one sense (well, they are part of the poem, part of the visual as well as the textual). I'm usually quite good at them.

So, what has gone wrong? Am I just being titularly lazy?

What to do? Overturn years of well-established practice? I feel a wee crise washing across me.

I've read a lot of poems without titles, sure, we all have, but leaving these ones as they are doesn't seem quite right (and I wonder why I think that). Neither does numbering them nor calling them all 'poem', or suchlike. Nor could they become one long poem - that is not right either, in this instance. Something will occur to me, soon I hope.

Comments

Lizz Murphy said…
Congratulations Jill on 40 poems in the thin cracks of the busy life. I have a climber plant in the thin cracks of a bathroom and ivy making cracks in the thins of the busy house but not enough new poems just at the moment thin, busy or cracked. Need to press the refresher button on Discipline or Get a Move On. Good on you. Best wishes, Lizz
09/12/2010, 16:44
Jill Jones said…
It all may come to nothing, Lizz. Words on paper but more than I've written for some while. I tell students to 'just do it' so thot I oughta as well.

God knows what's in the cracks of the house back in Sydney. Here, the mozzies and millipedes use the cracks for their own purposes, let alone the water from the big storms creating a second shower in the bathroom. Cracks, slivers and thins can be fruitful, or irritating - all depends. Thanks, J
09/12/2010, 17:00
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