Our Own Hallelujah: Blogging Around with Rommy, Week 38


Photo by Diego Morales on Unsplash


It starts at the core of us,
in that layer resistant
to all attempts of taming.

It’s in the way we sway
in that roll of hip and tongue
in that part that rejects respectable
straight jackets that flatten us to one dimension.

Our authenticity is dynamite
ready to blow up outdated definitions.

We sing our whole and holy words
punctuated by hallelujahs
for all of our possibilities.

This poem is linked to Poets United’s Wild Friday and Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads: Just One Word—Dynamite



Liner Notes for this Groove: I’ve read a lot of poetry collections that have moved me. But when I picked up the Poet X by ElizabethAcevedo it was like finding a long-lost family member. All I needed was a can of Inca Cola and a plate of lomo saltado nearby to take me completely back to my childhood. Ms. Acevedo finds so many of the words I felt but couldn’t say as a kid. I have to say I felt a little Molly Grue when I finished it (where was this book when I was young and hungry for something like this?), but I am truly happy to have encountered it at any age.


62 comments:

  1. What a strong and engaging poem - and I love your affection for your old poetry memories

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  2. Well I certainly felt that way as a teen, rubbing my hands with glee that I was free and soon married willing to take on the world and don't feel like stopping yet over sixty years later.

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    1. Youth certainly has no shortage of exuberant moments

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  3. This is absolutely fantastic, Rommy!❤️ I love; "We sing our whole and holy words punctuated by hallelujahs for all of our possibilities," and will surely check out the poetry collection Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo! Thank you so much for introducing me to her and for writing to the prompt!❤️

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    1. It's this odd hybrid of collection of poems that make up a novel, but yes, I think you will enjoy it. :)

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  4. I think Poet X is now a book I will have to read! "It starts at the core of us" the part at the centre, the wild part, the part that resists "taming." This has such a feeling of the wild woman about it. All roundness and curves that no "straight jacket" could confine. There's no insanity, just authenticity of being.

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    1. Exactly. There's a lot of power in claiming our authentic selves.

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  5. This is so awesome — especially Stanza 2.

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  6. An uplifting write. Loving that resistant layer.

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  7. I am glad you are reclaiming your heritage.

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  8. "whole and holy words" Wow! "Dynamite"!

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  9. What a profound writing. So very many meanings within those words So many issues can be found. Excellent write.

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  10. Oh, I love this, Rommy! Love. I will definitely read Poet X, thank you for sharing that. Explosive, all for the good.

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    1. I really love that collection of poetry. I'm hoping to have some time to read it out loud with darling youngest. :)

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  11. Modern "Taming of the Shrew?"
    Nice Dynamite usage, blowing up.
    ..

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  12. I'm feeling extremely smug because I knew you had chosen to write about The Poet X even before I read the ending notes. I love that your poem express the taste of the poetry collection and is all Rommy at the same time. Also, I love the details--refusal to conform, the roll of the tongue--leave me wanting to summon Celia Cruz, and yell, "Azuca!"

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    1. *snicker* I figured you'd guess. Thank you so much for recommending it to me.

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  13. "It’s in the way we sway
    in that roll of hip and tongue"...

    and "We sing our whole and holy words
    punctuated by hallelujahs"...

    Yup, I'm swooning!

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  14. Very beautifully written, every line is beautiful!!

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  15. I feel every line of the poem; it's an evocative piece. As for Poet X, that book is one of my favourites, and an inspiration. Brilliant choice!

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    1. I'm so glad. The Poet X was such a terrific read.

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  16. "We sing our whole and holy words" - sometimes when we don't even realize; sometimes in spite of ourselves trying not to. It is what makes us live! I cannot even say how much I love this poem, Rommy! Thank you for being you. :-)

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  17. Excellent write! I love this Rommy! Big Hugs!

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  18. I'm so glad you linked this poem again, Rommy. I love the book that inspired it, how well it sings those songs so many of us wish we knew the lyrics to when we were growing up. Like you say in your note, reading the book (and your poem) is like running into a relative who understand exactly what we are made of.

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    1. I was looking through my older stuff and this piece made me smile and remember how much I enjoyed reading that book.

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  19. I seem to have missed this on its first posting. Glad you revived it. I love the fervour of that rebellious streak.

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary. I had quite forgotten I wrote this and it was fun to reminisce

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  20. I can’t believe I didn’t read this poem the first time around, Rommy, but I was off-line for a while last October and November and seem to have missed quite a bit. I love the way you follow that crescendo from the core to the outpouring of song. What a lovely thought to have a ‘layer resistant to all attempts of taming’!

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    1. I certainly think it's worth our time to cultivate a layer like that

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  21. I, too, missed it 1st time around, but I'm blown away now for sure. My hat's off. Well done, Rommy

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  22. An amazing poem! Light and explosion and no more straitjackets.

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    1. Thanks C! It was fun to revisit this one again.

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  23. Well hallelujah for authenticity! Great poem.

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  24. Swing and sway, rock and roll ... getting real. Yes.

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  25. Wonderful! There is an embrace - and triumph - of strength and sensuality and possibilities and roots, in these words - that is truly palpable and stirring ... and which put me in mind of: 'Still I Rise' by Maya Angelou. Fantastic writing!

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  26. Ooh, this is fierce and powerful!

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