some aspects of ) th good /old w~ay
First apologies for the poor quality of the scan below made at work.
I think I have mentioned that my approach to ) TH GOOD /OLD W~AY is more sculptural than literary previously. What I haven't yet done is look at how that might work.
While there are better examples the image below still illustrates some of my thinking pretty well.
Before I do that though, partway through writing this I discovered that the most recent batch of which this is part had arrived with Andrew Taylor. The image used to illustrate the post includes this particular card.
So, onto the stanza.
Firstly the conscious decisions. Remember the stanzas are composed on the stamp and not planned beforehand.
The first choice was to end (and perhaps begin) several lines with a D. So the first line finishes with a D. The second line finishes with two Ds - and incorporates one other. The second line also begins with two brackets )) which each reflect the shape of the D.
I'll return to the second line shortly and how it relates to third line. It should be noted though that the third (middle) line is the only line not to have a D in it.
The fourth line begins with a D and the fifth line ends with a D.
The second choice was to echo the cluster of Ws in wayward on the first line in the second line's wood. Which also echoes the sound of wayward.
More obscurely the twin brackets )) at the beginning of the second line not only individually reflect the shape of the D but together arguably resemble the outer parts of a W. They might also be said to resemble any other capital letter with two uprights at either end - H, M, N, O, U or V.
Likewise I frequently use the slashes / to echo similar shapes in the capital letters used, sometimes by placing them in a vertical relationship to the letter. Usually these letters are A, M, sometimes N if I reverse the slash, V, W and occasionally Y. Both X and Z could also be echoed. Here it is taken in conjunction with the brackets to stand in relation to the Ws.
The third choice was to line up as many Us as possible vertically. So in the second, third and fourth lines the U's of crushed, (d)ust and dug respectively are more or less aligned. The only other U in the poem is in the word up immediately following dug.
As previously mentioned the two brackets )) for me echo the Ds, the Ws, and in this poem also the Us.
The fourth choice was to split the word dust across two lines. I could have put the whole word on the third line to have a D on the first three lines. This would have left the first two lines still ending on a D and would have meant the third (and fourth) lines began with a D.
But I liked the effect of having three Ds on the one line and of splitting the word dust. This drops the letters ust to the beginning of the next line and opens up the reading of the word. Obvious readings of those letters might push you towards lust and rust in addition to dust. Reading the letters in relation to the lines above and below also place it in relation to the the cr of crushed giving us crust, and the d of dug leading us back to dust.
These are just the conscious structures put in place. Also part of these conscious structures are the decisions about where to place the beginning and end of lines and where to place the stanza on the page. These particular decisions relate to the cards immediately preceding the current card. I always have in mind that this is a sequence and that each card must relate to those around it.
Then there are the accidental structures. The groups of three letters on successive lines slightly offset - ust, dug and the. The us of crushed and (d)ust. The echo of the slash / and the A on the fourth and fifth lines.
There are many stanzas that are even more consciously structured than this and quite a few that are less considered.
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