Meta: Editor

The poem I would choose, as an editor, would be the "Fish"-like poem, "I Remember," by LitheWalrus. This piece stood out to me for its form, its ebb and flow, river-like shape. The repetition of "Ah! I remember!" gives it an airy quality, so that readers remember and follow along this journey with the writer. It feels like the writer is remembering certain things as they walk along a river, or as they walk along a river in their memory. This poem grabbed me in a new way, inspiring my own writing, the act of remembering in nature. The sound and language is also captivating, holding your attention until the very last sentence. This is a piece I would choose to publish for its originality, form, language, and idea.

Editor Post

The moment one begins reading it, "Fish" grabs the reader with its shape, voice, and imagery. The back-and-forth lines assemble into a wave shape, a physical representation of the poem's to-and-fro feeling. The poem's constant shouting of 'Ah! I remember!' gives me pirate-vibes, which is phenomenal because I'm an octopus. There's just a jolliness that contrasts with some of the more melancholy feelings. Images of walrus whiskers and odd looking men keep the poem feeling odd and bit off-kilter. It's definitely something that's easy to visualize, almost like a very stylized picture book. It's my pick for this hypothetical magazine I'm editing for.

Meta: As an Editor

"Fish" - like Poem, for Prompt

I Remember

Ah! I remember!

     I remember a river

          Tossing here, curling there

               Twisting like walrus' whiskers

                    Ah! I remember!

               I remember a shiver;

          The shiver that ran up my spine

     The shiver of seeing the wonder

Instead of only the pictures

Ah! I remember!

     I remember a place

          The place I met the wallaby

               Singing like a wind through the vines

                    His name was Rutherford Kingsley

                         And his hair was matted and frayed

                    And, oh, how dismayed and wide-eyed

               Was he, when had he drunk of my wines

          Ah! I remember!

     I remember a face

The face of Mme C.

The beaver

Sweet face

     She spoke like a squirel

          In a chittering whirl

                   Like hummingbirds fast in a race

                            Ah! I do so remember in fondness

                                             My time spend on that river

                                                        My mind is taut like a bowstring

                                                                       But, alas! I've emptied my quiver!

I would choose this piece to publish in our little, literary journal. This piece stood out to me initially because of the way it is shaped it grabbed my attention as it looked like a river. But often, a poem shaped creatively can only be surface level. It can grab you, but it cannot hold you. This poem succeeds in holding you in the trance of a surrounding river and the memory the speaker has of it. This poem speaks to the calmness nature provides you, something we often forget nature can provide, but we desperately need.