Post 2: A poem by N. H. Pritchard

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This is the first poem that appears in a book of poems called The Matrix Poems: 1960-1970 by N. H. Pritchard (though I don't want to discount the not-without-sufficient-interest table of contents by referring to this as the first poem.....maybe I'll make a separate post all about the table of contents). On this page, there are three foreground elements: the title, "WREATH"; the page number, "1"; and the "content" of the poem, "O." The sparseness of what's on the page gives each of these elements significant weight--even makes them all pretty similar in value. (They all have the same degree of presence?) Within this close-knit, minimal setup, something that would seem to be as purely functional as a page number has the opportunity to have a relationship to the other text elements, to actually be counted as a considerable text element among them.

I like the way this poem is made by its title. How it could actually have a lot of different poem-meanings, but is given this particular one through the designating, indicating, and framing the title imposes on it. The title declares for "WREATH" to be present in some way and the poem provides the bare minimum enactment of this demand.

Questions:
-When do you turn the page?
-What happens (or something like this) when you move from a title that uses letters linguistically to the title's content that uses a single letter visually?

Thought-questions:
-There is no length (duration?) to the poem?
-The poem is also a kind of "Oh" reaction to its "O"?

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