The Slam: Slammables
Srosbeck’s Modern Poetry Course
by daisy, Massachusetts
Inscribed in the cover
Dickinson collection
Published 1961
It smells perfect
Each unbleached page
Cradles her youth
Under
Grad
Under
Lined
Under
Grass
Page 36
Where she dutifully penned in the margin
Dread of winter
Your poem is pretty mysterious. The first stanza sounds like it's about someone's mother's old schoolbook, but the lines, "It smells perfect / Each unbleached page" are a perfect description of the way new books feel and smell. At first that led me to think it was an old book that was never used, but I realized that wasn't the case at the end, when you mention it was written in.
I think your poem would read better without the "Under / Grad / Under / Line / Under / Grass" lines because they are confusing and detract from the nostalgic atmosphere of the poem.
Jul 27, 2010

Slammings