DISCRIMINATING DISTINCTION<\/p>\n
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She wanted a diacritical mark on her forehead.\u00a0 Something to set her apart.\u00a0 Not in a lightning bolt something-dreadful-happened-to-me-as-a-child and now I\u2019m cursed (or blessed?) sort of way.\u00a0 An umlaut, perhaps, or an aigu or grave.\u00a0 Some mark to keep her from getting lost in the thicket of talk, to show where emphasis resides.\u00a0 Something stochastic, ekphrastic, lingua-fantastic \u2013 some barking mark a listener could discern, distinguish, know \u2013 that varies with a conversation\u2019s weather.\u00a0 A signpost to visibly map her moods, to show the world she\u2019s listening to whatever random, perchance profound, perchance unlikely, words are being said.\u00a0 Something to say \u201cright!\u201d \u2013 attention paid; the right note struck, and resounding.<\/p>\n
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Jeanne Yeasting<\/a> is a poet and visual artist.\u00a0 She lives in Bellingham, and teaches creative writing<\/a> at Western Washington University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DISCRIMINATING DISTINCTION She wanted a diacritical mark on her forehead.\u00a0 Something to set her apart.\u00a0 Not in a lightning bolt something-dreadful-happened-to-me-as-a-child and now I\u2019m cursed (or blessed?) sort of way.\u00a0 An umlaut, perhaps, or an aigu or grave.\u00a0 Some … Continue reading