Titles.... (Blog #10)

While some may consider a title to be like a cereal box label in that it explains what's inside, there are other motivations for including one.

It isn't unusual for a poet to leave their work untitled, but even the word, "untitled", becomes a title in itself. A poem needs a reference for publication, and in the event that a poet chooses to leave their work untitled, the first line is often used.

Why Title a Poem?
The cereal box metaphor aside, there are, without a doubt, more choices for titles than there are individual poems and collections. Some may argue that a title limits the poem, as it may become a barrier to "entering" it. Others may argue that a title expands the poem's scope or offers clues to unraveling its meaning. Still others will claim that there needs to be a way to distinguish one poem from another. I feel that the title is the first thing a reader sees when coming to a poem, and therefore sets the mood or gives important information to the reader.

The following poem by Miller Williams is one of my favorites. I've left the title off and I am tasking you with coming up with a new title for the poem. Next week, I will reveal the true title of the poem. Have fun and title away!




Some of what we do, we do
to make things happen,
the alarm to wake us up, the coffee to perc,
the car to start.

The rest of what we do, we do
trying to keep something from doing something,
the skin from aging, the hoe from rusting,
the truth from getting out.

With yes and no like the poles of a battery
powering our passage through the days,
we move, as we call it, forward,
wanting to be wanted,
wanting not to lose the rain forest,
wanting the water to boil,
wanting not to have cancer,
wanting to be home by dark,
wanting not to run out of gas,

as each of us wants the other
watching at the end,
as both want not to leave the other alone,
as wanting to love beyond this meat and bone,
we gaze across breakfast and pretend.