Hi Jim,
This is very unusual, and a clever idea; I like the way you've put it together.
Out of interest, I went back to it with Bob's suggestion in mind, that of omitting the first line, but without "I speak them to death" and "I contort them into sentences", I wouldn't find it easy to figure out that the subject of the poem is "words".
It might just be me, but I don't want the task of trying to work out what a poem means - so in this instance I would suggest the complete opposite (sorry, Bob). I would call the poem "Words" and make the first line "I count them".
Thinking about it some more... I would suggest omitting the last line, for a much more pleasant ending!
I would also strongly urge you to change the title. I found it grim, and not worthy of what follows.
Jayne
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