Mark and I were both on the board of a poetry publication called Broadside. Normally, the submissions we'd get would be anonymous (unless they were by Seamus Heany, Denise Levertov, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, or Gwendolyn Brooks, and yes, I'm showing off now). However, Mark submitted the following poem signed with his name:
Mark was open to some suggestions for tweaking the poem, but not to others. "Rhyme and rhythm stays," he said. I noted privately that it was intriguing as to why Mark had chosen to justify the margins of the poem, but foolish mortal that I was, didn't pursue the matter.
We published the poem as we did all the Broadside poems: on a single piece of heavy paper, with the poet signing each one for a byline. Everyone on campus who subscribed to Broadside received the poem. Soon after, I got an excited phone call from Erika. "Mark proposed! Mark proposed!" she said. She told me that he read the poem aloud to her and then told her to read the first and last letters down each side of the poem: They spelled, "WILL YOU marry me."
Some of the grownup subscribers in the community complained that they thought the poem was misogynistic, but when one of the English professors pointed out the double acrostic, they said, "Oh, okay then." It was usually fun when a Broadside poem raised any sort of fuss, because it was evidence that the poetry did matter.
Mark and Erika got married at the college church. It was a lovely service, the maids of honor wore green velvet dresses, and Erika played violin at the reception. Many professors were invited, too, and the same English professor who came to Mark's defense of the poem originally said to me, "Just so you know, we professors love going to our students' weddings. That is a hint!" (Unfortunately, none of them were able to make it out to my Seattle wedding, but so it goes.)
Epilogue: Mark is an associate History professor at Eastern Mennonite University. Erika teaches nursing at James Madison University and is completing her Ph.D in Nursing at the University of Virginia. They are raising two children. Mark just got a Fulbright scholarship and is heading to Croatia, and his family will join him later in the year. As far as I know, they are all living happily ever after.
Sarah Reinhard of Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering is doing the Poetry Friday Roundup in the Kidlitosphere. Speaking of the Kidlitosphere, have you thought anymore about going to the Second Annual Kidlitosphere Conference in Portland, Oregon? If it is at all feasible for you to go, I'd love to see you there.
