On First Hearing Himself Read His Poem Aloud
The words are better than this man's
reading of them, surely.
In his inexpert mouth they drone
mechanically along without the lilt
or cadence of an Irishman
or Englishman or German.
The words are surely better than this
and deserve better, spoken aloud.
Surely these fine words,
so crisp in black on white,
deserve a crisper voice than this
to send them through the air
toward anonymous ear drums
which deserve a deeper resonance
than this defeated and terrified voice
which does not serve
such fine, crisp, resonant words
so starkly beautiful, black on white,
and written with obvious
high regard for words.
reading of them, surely.
In his inexpert mouth they drone
mechanically along without the lilt
or cadence of an Irishman
or Englishman or German.
The words are surely better than this
and deserve better, spoken aloud.
Surely these fine words,
so crisp in black on white,
deserve a crisper voice than this
to send them through the air
toward anonymous ear drums
which deserve a deeper resonance
than this defeated and terrified voice
which does not serve
such fine, crisp, resonant words
so starkly beautiful, black on white,
and written with obvious
high regard for words.
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Author's Note
The other readings are exceptional.
Other stories by Gary Hardaway
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Great poem. :D
I enjoyed this very much, and the opening words have given me much to think about: "The words are better than this man's reading of them, surely." *
Nicely put... is there an audio recording?!
Good poem. Nice work, Gary. The audio is at the Olentangy Review, Neil.
Fave, Gary. I really I think it's true that poetry should be listened to. It's also true to me that few can speak it as well as it's written. I really like breaking into the verse to single this out:
'does not serve
such fine, crisp, resonant words
so starkly beautiful, black on white,"
*
This one was exceptional, too, I bet. *
My frustration whenever I do a reading.
Everyone says "read aloud." But that's risky, isn't it, sometimes.
Deep thanks to everyone for the gifts of your time with this.
Even if the voice waivers, the words ring true.*
Good poem. I liked the lines David James pulled out. thank you
Thank you, Gary and Patti.