first line poem

"Dr. Farnsworth, A Chiropodist, Lived in Ohio, Where He Wrote Only The First Lines Of Poems" what a title that is. It's about as specific as you can get, and I found this poem (if that's what you even call it) by Tom Andrews to be weird, but interesting. The first line of a poem is pretty important. Well, every line is important. And when you think about it, every word, even, is important. But I think the first line is especially important. It lets the reader in on the tone of the poem, it allows the reader to get a feel for the language, the rhythms, the beat, everything. Also, a first line of a poem can just grab the reader by the shirt collar and demand their attention. "April is the cruelest month" is a great example, in The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Why is it the cruelest month? Because that's when Lincoln got shot? Or because the weather is a tease? Easter? I don't know; I want to read on. So this poem, made up entirely of first lines is a great idea. Even though it really doesn't read too well (I tried finding some strange connections between the poem, but I just couldn't make the stretches), the poem isn't about that. It is about the need for a strong first line, and it is about, I think, the need for each line of a poem, especially the first line, when the reader's brain is fresh and his/her idea of what the poem entails is not at all conceived. I thought the best lines were the fifth, "The smell of God in wood." and the twelfth, "Say of me that I am living still." These two stuck out for me, for some reason. Maybe because they have more finality because of the periods at the end makes them concrete statements. Some of the lines, like number 9, "The sun, lost" seem just a little too vague for me, though I understand their nature as a first line, I am looking for a little bit more than a three word ambiguity. This poem overall, though, is quite interesting, and it shows how even the first line, or first two or three words of a poem can entice a reader to keep on reading.
*Michael McCune