reverie

Nadia Osei

The Word for It

In one language, the word for strangerand the word for guestare almost the same word,only the welcome makes the difference.

I think about this every timesomeone asks where I'm really from,waiting to hear which wordthey've already decided to use.

The poet asked for: Is the last stanza a natural landing, or am I explaining the first stanza instead of trusting it?

About free versePoetry without a set rhyme scheme or regular meter, shaped by the poet.

Free verse has no fixed rhyme scheme or regular meter, so there is no rule to check it against. That does not mean it lacks craft. The poet chooses where lines break, how long they run, and what repeats, and those choices shape it.

Listen for Where each line ends, and how that break changes the way you hear it.

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Nadia Osei

@nadia

Two languages, one notebook. Trusts the shorter poem.

11 poems · 9 readings received · 11 written · 2 followers

Readings (1)

Marisol Vega28 September 2026
Two languages, one notebook — I know this feeling from the inside. You say it cleaner than I've managed to.

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Matched by shared theme or form. Where two match equally, the one still waiting for a first reading comes first.