If My Eyes Were Microscopes

Joyce Sutphen writes about how normal things that do not affect us grandiose manners actually do change us. She depicts some very mundane events, yet she is able to write about them through and alternative lens that grants her the ability to see on a smaller scale. She shows that even the smallest things in life have great significance. In her poem “The Day” she writes that many great things have happened on particular days, however your birth is significant because of the work that you have put in. She writes, “On this day in nineteen forty-nine, you were born, and though it took you many years to do good work and keep in touch, you did”. On an even smaller scale, Sutphen analyzes how her behavior changes when people say the Alphabet in her poem “Semi Literate”. She writes, “Q-r-s was curious, that was certain, t-u-v I liked because it reminded me of a little cabin by a lake where waves crashed on rocks all night”. The significance of the way of how the alphabet is spoken causes her to reflect on memories that she is fond of. She finds that in the faintest of ideas; significance can cause oneself to reflect on fond moments. “The Things You Did Not Write On Your Resume” drives these ideas home as Sutphen reflects on her abilities as a mother. She points out her importance as mother as though not seen by society as normal. She writes, “How often you got up in the middle of the night when one of your children had a bad dream, and sometimes you woke because you thought you heard a cry but they were all sleeping”. In essence she claims that her skill set as a mother is just as significant as her working skill set. In conclusion, Stuphen uses her words to depict importance however mundane. She shows that all things can lead to behaviors that can even cause nostalgia. Her poetry shines on areas already thought to be discovered and reanalyzes them.