Abstract

This thesis is a collection of poetry, prose poetry, short prose reflections, and sudden fiction that examines violence and its repercussions, animal life, and unexpected joy. In the lined poems, rhythm and syllabic liaison are as important to me as the line. In the prose poetry, phrase and syllable are key to rhythm, and while my choice to use predominantly prose and prose poetry in the thesis is organic to the topics treated, it has also been influenced by my ambivalence toward the line. And so I work primarily with the paragraph, the phrase, the sentence and the syllable. I try to privilege rhythm and sound where possible because I want these words to be felt in the body where love first happens, and where violence from fists and words forces lifesaving to begin. The thesis is divided into three sections. The first two sections are a journey through infatuation, love, habit, violent confrontation, to an unknown end, and focus on human relationships. The final section is more eclectic and talks about fruit, dogs, deer, illness, municipal politics, and fish who have rhythm. Images from the natural world are common to all three sections, as are animal encounters.