Duplex (After Jericho Brown)
My next door neighbor is a man named Brown.
He’ll blow his horn until the walls fall down.
Hey Jericho, let’s knock these walls right down.
A poem’s a home of imagery and sound.
A poet’s at home in images and sounds.
A poem’s a car that speeds around the town.
A poem can roam through cities, suburbs, towns.
A form’s a path through woods that someone found
Or else a form is something someone made—
someone undaunted, someone unafraid.
Someone undaunted, someone who just prayed,
wrote down his words to God, and what God said.
And what God said to poets all around:
Your neighbors rhyme with you: white, black, or brown.
15 thoughts on "Duplex (After Jericho Brown)"
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“A poem’s a home of imagery and sound”
I couldn’t agree more!
The line “someone undaunted, someone unafraid” is so empowering!
You have inspired me to attempt the duplex form. Great job!
the poem comes to two roads in the wood
and it never takes the one it should
Clever rhyme, Jim. I’m open to suggestions. Any specifics, or are you just taking a should on my poem?
Well done! I’ve wanted to try one of these, but they look hard as hell.
My first. It was fun.
Great riff!
Thanks Melva. Congrats on your new book.
Ha! I love how you used “Jericho” and “Brown” to launch yourself into his invented form and then turned this into a commentary on poets who invent form.
Thanks Ellen.
Thank you, Ellen.
Love how you landed this wonderful duplex:
And what God said to poets all around:
Your neighbors rhyme with you: white, black, or brown.
Thanks! Still not 100% about the ending. It’s a tough form. I kind of wished I had another line or so to work with.
I especially like how it rhymes.