A poem on restraints and freedom. Inspired by the virtual talk panel Seeking Sanctuary | Series One
"FreeWrite"
I use punctuations like
Decorations
They stand
silently
by words
to support
the tone.
Sometimes it's something
LOUD
like
glittery
exclamations
!!!
Shouting
to be heard.
Or it's a whisper quiet
comma,
making your voice pause
for a breath.
Or the stately period that makes
sentences stand still. and brave.
I use punctuations as decorations
because I don't follow rules or
guidebooks when my pen flows.
I write what I hear in my mind and write
what my soul needs to convey,
My Sagittarius spirit does not like to be
confined!
I need
W I D E
o p e n
blank s p a c e s
to write however I please,
To doodle in the margins.
Possibly;
And paint pictures
with letters and symbols
so you can see it all
in your mind.
In my mind there are no symbols to put
my words in
straight
lines.
They are not ordered about like soldiers
blind.
So I will show your tongue
againstteeth
how to speak my words
How my thoughts sound
Lydia Hord is a New York-based poet, writer, and visual artist. Hord also works as a facilitator for The Yonkers Writing Group.