I just finished re-reading Matthew Yeager’s poem “From ‘A Jar of Balloons, or The Uncooked Rice’” (link is to extended version), and the more I think about my disappointment in the poem the more absurd–both the poem and my reaction–appear to me. The poem begins with a fairly novel concept: an extensive list of simple but personal questions that range from the banal to the sublime. The feel of the poem is unfortunately random and haphazard, like a game of Would You Rather without a partner–and that you allow to persist too long. A better–or at least more fitting–response to this poem than writing about it, in my opinion, follows:
Response to Yeager's From "A Jar of Balloons..."
N large very Y ? N gray me Y N N N 27" showers $20 Y layers neither eat 3rd NA Y mildly Y 1 fair N above average Y 17 Y NA Y chest-high N cake both N Y N Y both N bottom mix it up easy center N window Y "damn" <20 above average Y N poor Y depends one temple NA white, cream, green, red, tan Y bicycle N N Y N Y (elaborative) often Y (rhetorical) Y NA NA depends palm out existing, persisting, [private], etc N (elaborative) Y black smooth peel as I eat tear into N both Y N Imperial City crying drive Y N N (rhetorical) N both Y (rhetorical) Y (rhetorical) Y sinking Y N Y crowd Y Willem 3 N Y Y Y depends no response #2 4 occaisionally N NA (rhetorical) Star Wars toy gun Y don't know est. 12 N, Y occaisionally obligatory Y (rhetorical) walk around by myself N depends Y "out of sight out of mind" N NA real star Y right rear don't know Y Y, N Y butter depends depends Y last week N Y N NA don't know NA N don't know Y Y N depends dysentery Y poor October N (elaborative) depends don't know rarely N family members rarely either N Y Y N depends N pecan depends N N depends poor don't know (rhetorical) few or none varies Y (elaborative) Y (elaborative) N (elaborative) Y N N, Y don't recall Y Y (elaborative) send back N work putting on socks, or walking Y NA reading all of the above (elaborative) N N Y N NA none NA NA N depends Y N NA 50 NA Y N N Y N depends N Y N NA me Y flexibility, resilience Y N Y don't know Y (rhetorical) Y N sometimes Y, N depends not for myself N it's a form of tyranny NA above average don't know N don't know NA Nick Cave in The Birthday Party N N $5 Y Y Toys R Us average average Y sometimes NA Y Y NA (rhetorical) don't know "kitty-corner" N (rhetorical) N NA (funny) 1st degree Y sometimes tea, books -- fewer things as I age opera poetry oh, Y Y both N N "I can get this" Y Y Y don't know GRE Literature, or that one history of the English language final oscillate N Y very 2002 Y 4 Y Y grandfather brother N fair good NA N N clip N N N both Y N (rhetorical) 12 hours
Did I miss any? Do
I care?
