Today’s poem is in the form of a duplex. I am inspired by Jericho Brown’s poem: A poem is a gesture toward home.
In a nutshell, a duplex is meant to fuse and disrupt different forms of poetry…with a loosely established form of its own. 14 lines in 7 couplets. The first line echoes in the last line, and repetition of lines (or words/essences of lines) stack throughout. Lines are meant to ‘flip’ on each other in meaning and style. It’s really exciting form!
I fit the entire poem in this image.
The theme of this poem: Dry January – was requested by a dear friend and writer of fantastic mystery novels, Mark S. Bacon. Thanks, Mark!
Are you ‘observing an abstinence’ of something? Alcohol? White sugar? Cussing?
In other news, the first book of 2026 that I finished reading is: Odd Spirits by S.T. Gibson. A magical, sexy, passionate, witchy quick read!
Happy Friday!
VANESSA SHIELDS 