There is a verse for everyone in poetry. Whether it’s free verse or prose, poetry allows us to look through another’s perspective and interpret their words depending on both the subject matter and who we are as people. For the poets themselves, their words can function as an extension of their thoughts and experiences. Distraction’s Poetry Corner spotlights writers here at the U and explains the meaning behind each piece.
To Daniel
We have our grand plans.
We want to hear monsters hem and haw in the transparent hours of the night and unravel
local mysteries.
We want to find the source
of the underground river that greens the lake and name the fish beating along its edges.
That fish we wanted to name,
silently grazing,
tends to suffuse his glare
on the awkward egret tiptoeing by
and the iguana squatting on the shoreline. We can see him in his entirety,
idling over a cloud of silt
that obscures the kelp and guppies. He intends to remain seen
while the current pushes him to a further shore, where mangrove labyrinths await.
Behind the Verse with Jordan Biller
What would you say your relationship is with poetry and writing, in terms of your introduction to it and how you view it now?
“I started writing last year while I was taking Introduction to Poetry here at the University of Miami. I really grew to appreciate how poetry can express something complicated so concisely because of the precise language it requires. After analyzing a lot of poetry in class, I started to get more comfortable with how poems garnered meaning, and I decided to start writing them. It was initially to challenge myself to do something new, but I never expected to keep at it for this long.
In general, I use poetry to journal feelings and events in my life. I always like to include the date I wrote my poems, similar to how journal entries are usually dated. That way, I can look back on a poem and understand the state of mind I was in when I was writing it. Lately, I have been trying to write more poems from perspectives besides my own, just as thought experiments.”
“To Daniel,” the title is a bit of a nod to your intended audience of this poem — your dear friend Daniel. What message do you want both the person who you dedicated this poem to along with others who read this to take away?
“Daniel and I’s friendship is intertwined with our attendance at UM. We met as roommates in freshman year and have both grown so much in our three years here together. I consider Daniel one of my best friends. One day, while we were sitting on the rocks outside Shalala, I started thinking about everything I was grateful for in my life. Daniel has been a consistent friend to me ever since we met, and I wanted to express that in a poem. There is a fish that always sits by the edge of the lake that we always talked about naming. In some ways it reminded me of him, so I used it as a starting point to write the poem
I hope this poem can serve as a reminder to step back and appreciate the important people in our lives for the little things that make them who they are.”
What helps you create poetry? Run us through a bit of your thought process as you tackle creating your poems.
“I almost never start something completely from scratch or on a whim. Inspiration will usually come from something in front of me or something I have already been thinking about. I let ideas come from absolutely anywhere. Sometimes, I’ll see something cool while out and about, living my life as usual. If I can find a way to phrase it, I’ll use it to represent an idea I already have. Additionally, after reading a fair amount of poetry, it becomes easier to listen for interesting sounding words or phrases in my daily life. If I hear something I like, I can use that as a starting point for a poem too.
The observations I have made about Daniel in this poem have been made about other people countless times before. Therefore, the goal for me is to find a way to convey my thoughts that makes sense to others. However, I still want to leave room for nuance. Since poems are short, I try to create meanings that aren’t apparent on the first read.”
poem_jordan biller. interview_nicole vedder. photo_@hp_miami on Instagram. design_charlotte deangelis.
This article was published in Distraction’s Summer 2024 print issue.
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