Daniel Romo on “Dromedary”

I try not to be a prose poem elitist. I attempt not to sneer when I read a “prose poem” that begins with someone conducting a surreal act and escalates to yet more surrealism that overshadows the simple and otherwise lazy language which litters the poem that is actually more of an unremarkable story than anything else and ends with a flat punchline. I try to see that sometimes I overcompensate in the poetic language department in my own poems because SO many other prose poems neglect to add the poetry. I realize some of my recent prose poems lacked imagery (perhaps because of aforementioned prose poems in which imagery became the gimmick of the poem) so with my prose poems, I’ve made a concerted attempt to tie in the language with the images. I want to create a poem that possesses a distinct voice. I want my poems to be smart and sing.

In “Dromedary,” I used the language as the foundation of the poem. I strived to be clever while presenting a slice. And I added the mother from Sheboygan because I like the name Sheboygan and she brings life. I can see this woman struggling to simply live out a routine. I wanted the poem to take the reader to more than one place, but for a purpose. This was a fun poem to write. Not all my poems are. So now, more so than ever, I’m continuing to be conscious of creating worlds in my prose poems in which imagery and language feed off each other and present a welcoming, homecooked meal.