The summer she turned seven
they gave her a wooden pencil case
with a pencil and eraser.
The pencil, so she could gnaw the lead
until she found the vagus nerve
of the word.
The eraser, to erase the word
before she could say it.
Grade levels
7-9 / Sec. 1-3
10-12 / Sec. 4 & 5 / CEGEP 1
Tags
Moods
Common Poetic Terms and Forms
Contest Criteria
Bibliographical info
Gorga, Gemma, "Good Manners" from Late to the House of Words 2021, Saturnalia Books. Griffin Poetry Prize 2022 Finalist. English Translation Copyright © 2021 by Sharon Dolin. Used with permission from The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.