Social Distancing

The lack of traditional form in “Social Distancing” is immediately apparent due to the physical arrangement of the lines on the page; additionally, despite some parallel phrasing between lines, the poem defies formal readings through its structure. There is no one discernible way to correctly read the poem; instead, it is up to the reader(s) to decide how to enter into the text. In this way, the form has a special influence on the meaning of the poem: By altering how the reader experiences the text, Herrera seems to be suggesting that readers can engage in another way of thinking about their own world and interactions. If part of Herrera’s intent is to convince readers that they should be social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, this requires helping resistant people to think about physical isolation in a different way.

Despite the unique presentation of the poem’s text, Herrera utilizes similar phrase structures in the radiating lines of the poem to build a slight rhythm. No matter what order the lines are read, they fit together with subtle movement. The poem doesn’t fall into any traditional meter or

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