Response to Caroline Connell’s “Things That Feel Like You”
by Cori Futrovsky
Caroline followed option three on the prompt, which I found very interesting. While writing my own poem, I found it hard to include a foreign-language word or phrase, a mineral, rock, gemstone, and some of the other elements. Caroline really clearly and effectively includes all of the elements under the “A Dozen Pieces” option. The way Caroline incorporates all of the elements in the third option really flow well together and makes sense.
For example, “‘Coalition ‘in it to win it’ I laughed because so were we” follows the guideline for using a headline from a newspaper. It is a really clever line from Caroline, and reiterates the idea of falling in love.
I really enjoy this poem because it reminds me of writing a letter to an old lover about falling in love, reminiscing, and falling out of love/breaking up. The line “I didn’t quite know that I’d love you, too” gives that idea of falling in love, making me feel like this poem is a chronological story.
Caroline uses a mix of enjambment and punctuation in this poem, which is both interesting and a bit confusing. I think I would rather she choose one or the other (more so the punctuation), because I feel it gets the messages in the poem across clearer. I think either would work, but sticking to one gives the poem a much more consistency.
I also love the last line: “Your name tastes like arsenic.” It’s a really great line, but I also wish you wrote more about that line because this is an amazing poem and I want to know more!!