Speechless II: Poet & Context

“Lost my compass / found my way”
- Sam-La Rose examines personal growth through experiences and the process of learning from losses, redirecting life in unforeseen directions.
“I found poems in the flex of your fingers and language in the shape of your lips”
- The poetic understanding of the world is inherent to Sam-La Rose’s identity; his perspective finds language and meaning in mundane, everyday occurrences.

“Whatever happened to my voice / I learned to write”
- Despite life’s challenges that may hinder verbal communication, the speaker articulates thoughts, feelings, and experiences through written poetry.
“Made peace with silence / turned it into a poem”
- Silence, typically associated with communication barriers and absence of voice, is transformed into an expressive medium in Sam-La Rose’s hands, validating alternate forms of communication.

“My bones became bars of a percussive score”
- The poet’s physicality is metaphorically likened to musical notation, suggesting the inherent poetry and rhythm present within the self.
“Unfurling a scroll of unwritten lyrics”
- Poetry is visually depicted as a continuous scroll, perhaps symbolising the never-ending journey of self-expression and discovery.

“Rehearsed my catastrophes / danced with my fears”
- Suggests a proactive and confrontational approach to personal fears and issues, demonstrated through the dynamic verbs ‘rehearsed’ and ‘danced’.
“Became the nightscape, painted myself as constellation”
- Metaphorically transforming into celestial bodies signifies resilience and the ability to rise above, shining brightly even in dark times.

“The echoes of my stutters fed my alphabet”
- Uses oxymoron, combining auditory ‘echo’ and speech limitation ‘stutter’, to suggest that personal weaknesses have fueled the poet’s linguistic growth.
“Perfected the hymns of absence”
- This phrase combines religious ‘hymn’ and negative ‘absence’, conveying the ability to find harmony and beauty even in void and loss.