Coming Into Word
Arleen Paré
when I came into this word
which in my own way I made flesh
I spoke the language I was born to
a language not perfect for my body
the word itself not perfect for the flesh it needed to reflect
but useable borrowed from an island in the Adriatic Sea
the word beginning almost unnoticed
as though it might not begin at all
tongue soft to upper teeth pushing off
into ehh and the sibilance of less
the way snakes hiss in morning gardens waiting
for sun to reheat their scalloped curves
shadows underneath the undergrowth before the door exists
in someone's mouth the buh the sudden thud
careening into over-bright of noon
uncomplicated in its layout
three syllables: beginning middle end
the en of end the tuning fork trying to wrest
a final harmony from discordant sounds sounds
that better match a new-age drug or the element adjacent helium
on the elemental chart useable but
I want another word
a word that rings kaleidoscopic with syllables that multiply
a word that lilts and sings its meanings drowning ears a bird
whose wings and colours spread open on a blue and ozone world
a flower whirled like a spaceship all purple-green with discs and stamins waving
a word that takes root here inside our mouths
after light-years of travel
its origins in outer-space
which in my own way I made flesh
I spoke the language I was born to
a language not perfect for my body
the word itself not perfect for the flesh it needed to reflect
but useable borrowed from an island in the Adriatic Sea
the word beginning almost unnoticed
as though it might not begin at all
tongue soft to upper teeth pushing off
into ehh and the sibilance of less
the way snakes hiss in morning gardens waiting
for sun to reheat their scalloped curves
shadows underneath the undergrowth before the door exists
in someone's mouth the buh the sudden thud
careening into over-bright of noon
uncomplicated in its layout
three syllables: beginning middle end
the en of end the tuning fork trying to wrest
a final harmony from discordant sounds sounds
that better match a new-age drug or the element adjacent helium
on the elemental chart useable but
I want another word
a word that rings kaleidoscopic with syllables that multiply
a word that lilts and sings its meanings drowning ears a bird
whose wings and colours spread open on a blue and ozone world
a flower whirled like a spaceship all purple-green with discs and stamins waving
a word that takes root here inside our mouths
after light-years of travel
its origins in outer-space
Working Notes
A couple of years ago, while reading a new collection of Québecois poets (Paris Quebec), I was reminded of the way French feminists had interrogated language in order to disrupt the male linguistic grip. I was inspired then to write "Coming Into Word," analyzing the term lesbian as an acquired term, not one we choose ourselves. Not that "we" could have chosen particularly, but I fantasize otherwise in this poem, first dismantling the word, and then deciding that another, more beautiful word should be adopted.
About the author
Arleen Paré is a Canadian writer. Her first book, Paper Trail (NeWest, 2007), won the 2008 Victoria Butler Book Prize; it was also nominated for the 2008 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Award. Her writing has appeared in various Canadian journals including The Malahat Review, CVII, and Geist magazine. She is currently studying poetry in the University of Victoria's MFA Creative Writing program. Originally from Montreal, she now lives in Victoria with her partner of thirty years.
For an updated list of works published in TRIVIA, please see this author's contributor page.
For an updated list of works published in TRIVIA, please see this author's contributor page.