Throughout this conference, the issue of no punctuation, and the sub-
sequent ambiguity of the phrasing in the piece, came up time and again,
through and around observations, as part of questions and speculations.
We t a l k e d a b o u t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e t e x t t o t h e p i c t u r e a n d t h e p r o c e s s
through which this work came to be. We commented on the child’s
spelling and raised questions about the ending. (The child appears to have
written and erased “thats the end” after “two lips” in Line 4. This erasure
cannot be seen in this book, but it’s evident on the original work.) There
was extensive discussion about whether or not this was a poem. But the
Wonder ing to Be Done 241FIGURE 13.1
“May Is”