Suppose Columbus
Charles Suhor
wrong been had Columbus Suppose
sheet this as flat was earth the Suppose
goodships the And
NINA
PINTA
MARIA SANTA
East the to get to west Traveling
the is fact the But
NINA
PINTA
MARIA SANTA
cliff watery a towards Racing
the of nests crow's the in And
NINA
PINTA
MARIA SANTA
"!ho Land" cry to wanting men Frightened
the on But
PINTA
MARIA SANTA
gone was ship sister their that only crying Men
the on And
MARIA SANTA
gone were ships sisters his that only crying man crazed A
end the and abyss airy an suddenly And
Columbus Of
This poem is just one example of a certain kind of poetry—concrete poetry. In a concrete poem, the
placement of words on the page is related to the meaning of the poem.
 Silently reread line four, noticing your eye motion. How is that motion related to what the line
says and to Columbus' actual voyage from Spain?
 Why do the ships' names shift slightly more to the left each time they appear in the poem?
 Why are only two ships listed in line thirteen? Only one in line fifteen?
 Are there other instances where the placement of words or phrases—especially at the ends of
lines—is related to the events as they occur in the poem?