20 minute walk with Delia
neighborhood
33 degrees
A short walk through the neighborhood with Delia the dog. My calf is feeling better. I think I’ll try running 1 or 2 miles tomorrow morning. Today, just a walk. Brrr. The thing I’d like to remember from the walk — other than the happy feeling of walking without fear of cramping — was the exclamation point on the sold sign in front of house 1 block south. Sold! Maybe I’ve missed it, but I don’t think sold signs usually have exclamation points. I love exclamation points! So did Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman!
Searched through my archives and found a reference to exclamation points in a Diane Seuss sonnet:
how many exclamation points can I
get away with in this life, who was it who said only two
or maybe seven, Bishop? Marianne Moore?
In that 27 march 2023 entry, I tried finding the reference — Bishop or Moore — but couldn’t. Still can’t.
Returning to Emily Dickinson, I think my favorite exclamation point poem by her is ‘Tis so much joy! ‘Tis so much joy! — especially these lines, which I like to chant on some runs:
Life is but Life! And Death, but Death!
Bliss is, but Bliss, and Breath but Breath!
While rereading the entry for feb 23, 2022, I re-discovered these poems by Rebecca Hazelton — 2 examples of ekphrastic poetry: The Husband’s Answers