¨Words, blank spaces, and Jim¨

As I heard Dorian Merina´s Migrations my brain recognized I had seen something like it before. The question was obvious, I tried to figure out “what “or “where” I had previously experimented a similar feeling to that provoked by “Migrations”. Nevertheless, I had to focus on the poem and left aside my disruptive unconsciousness and kept on reading. While I read the poem I found emphasis on style to be an aspect that is consistent through the whole piece. Listing objects is a way to describe a setting and portray ones thoughts. Yet, using words without an apparent continuous idea and placing them more abruptly appeals to be more interesting for the reader. This can be seen in the following excerpt:

“cherries nutmeg pepper ginger salt pork chestnuts walnuts chicueyes
thread needles thimbles cushions pins boxes
writing cases engraved with scenes of bamboo and waves
moons and mist”

Merina continues to repeat this particular “unarranged” structure in which elements are placed almost by a force similar to inertia. And by this I mean that every sentence and word falls into place unexpectedly nonetheless in harmony. The force that embodies Merina´s poem is uninterrupted from beginning to end. In terms of style, I consider “Writing cases engraved with scenes of bamboo and waves /moons and mist” characterizes the essence of “Migrations”. Moving organically from phrase to phrase generate the image of a bird flying from branch to branch. Merina´s verses emerge like the unexpected animals or trees one could encounter while traveling in the tropics. This being a key element in terms of the poems theme: the cultural backgrounds from asian slaves brought to America among others.

The background music and the narrator’s passive-constant voice highlight style. Soft beating drums with spontaneous guitar sounds recreate the poems scenario. These techniques embody “Migrations” entirely when combined with verses like:

“the simple chemistry of this
distillation of a kiss
thirst
and a word like rum

and a word like rum

and a word like…


achuete
atole
avocado
balsa
banqueta
cachuete

calabaza…” due to their natural movement. These fragments provide rhythm phonetically and visually to the poem. Of course noting that the words employed here are idoneous to the poems theme. They are words that contain sounds like the “Ch” and the spanish pronunciation of the vowels. Thus emphasizing style in another manner and contributing to the creation of ¨Migrations¨.

But this blog hasn’t ended yet, I must tell you where I had experienced a similar feeling to that of Dorian Merina´s poem. I can now recall it clearly: “ The Ghost Song” by The Doors. Jim Morrisons´s voice serves as a quasi narrator through his song, using a similar unhurried tone in which verses carry on from one another, despite their “incoherent” meaning and placement. As if he could capture instinctively his song’s essence Morrison’s voice says:

“Awake.
Shake dreams from your hair
my pretty child, my sweet one.
Choose the day and choose the sign of your day
the day's divinity
First thing you see.”

One can see how style is used in different artistic expressions and recreate a similar feeling to a reader. Both pieces use a “raw” employment of words and tone, creating a sense of constant motion, freshness and distinctive style.