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The Non-Manichaean Dualities of an Office Stapler
A. Free Verse v. Structured Verse
1. Free Verse
free verse
oh, my
just sort of roams
around the periphery of an office stapler to little purpose and without any regard to structure metre discipline or sometimes even an attempt to respect the reader and often reflecting the unhappy reality that the
Writer
hasn’t progressed
beyond OH, beyond!
something of Rod McKuen’s they he she Saw somewhere somehow
And like u no theres lots of pointless white space cause
She saw that somewhere o stapler
‘cause hes got to be free to embrace like stuff u no
2. Structured Verse
In structured verse even a stapler works
Within the freedom of a master plan
(Iambs, perhaps, though anapests are nice)
To dance the rhythms of the universe
B. Metaphorical Verse v. Concrete Verse
1. Metaphorical Verse
The office stapler sits and looks at us
In mechanical rebuke for our sins
This neo-Platonism of Machine -
It calls us from beyond its shadow-cave
2. Concrete Verse
A stapler fell into some wet concrete
And was never recovered. This has no meaning
Other than that someone must go to the store
And buy a new made-in-China stapler
C. First-Person v. Third-Person
1. First-Person Verse
I thus perceive my office stapler to be
An extension of MY wonderful ME!
This stapler is about me, me, oh, ME!
What I can be, it’s all about ME!
2. Third-Person Verse
An office stapler resides within the poem
Determined by the poet to do its part
In service to his disciplined art
And if the poet is not there to see -
The office stapler remains
L’Envoi
And then Santa Claus punched out Arius
But that’s a story for another day
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