Laurel Snyder, “Paper Dolls”

This is the shape of some words,
but not just.

This resembles the story
of a girl, but not just.

This is called
making it daily.

Go ahead. Take scissors,

and with a snip, make a girl.

Might as well make many.
They’ll all look alike,

but some will hold fewer hands
than others.

You’ll see what I mean,
but not just.

Make a flurry
of paper bits that won’t

seem to end, and what else
might you have made?

From The Myth of the Simple Machines. I’ve known Laurel Snyder for a few years now, first through email and then in person when she was promoting Half-Life, the anthology of essays she edited about growing up in interfaith families. Right now, she’s getting ready for Random House to publish Up & Down the Scratchy Mountain, her first novel for young readers, and as part of the buildup to that, she’s participating in the Class of 2K8, which makes her a perfect choice to start off a new year of Beatrice posts, right?

1 January 2008 | poetry |