Beverly Patterson
Head
It’s all
been in
over
hanging over
gone to
gotten into
and off the top
of this head
above heels
above water
in the gutter
in the clouds
in the sand
that’s been
talked off
laughed off
bitten off
snapped off
held up
and hung low.
It’s been
an ache
and a trip
but I’m sorry
I lost it.
ABOUT THIS POEM
This poem is constructed with strings of idioms – figures of speech that are interesting for both their literal and figurative interpretations. Idioms are great examples of how we make sense of our experience with language and the imagination. To experience the poem, with all its actions, is to mentally leap through the phrases – mind-springing with stimulation. The act of reading the poem reveals the ways we navigate our minds. The poetry is run-on sentences that are rhythmic and structured. To comprehend and reveal the poem’s structure, it is mapped out in an academic sentence diagram. The poem is presented in diagram format with the words systematically mapped: subject / verb / preposition / object / article / adjective/ adverb. As a counter to the rigorous structure of the diagram format, this poem is also physically expressed without words as an oil pastel interpretation of the poem on the papyrus paper.