Nguyen (2022) defines timestamped‑hypertext poetry as “a textual artifact whose meaning is co‑produced through the simultaneity of linguistic signifiers and extratextual temporal markers.” The inclusion of the date “24.06.21” functions not merely as a record but as a temporal anchor that invites readers to locate themselves within a specific historical moment—the early summer of 2021, a period marked by post‑COVID‑19 cultural re‑opening (Graham, 2022). Studies of similar works (e.g., Sunrise.05.09.20; Liu, 2020) demonstrate that such timestamps can generate “chronotopic resonance” (Bakhtin, 1981) when paired with evocative locales.
The mixed‑methods approach proved effective for capturing both macro‑level engagement patterns and micro‑level phenomenological nuance. However, the reliance on publicly available social‑media data may have excluded private or non‑English responses, potentially biasing the thematic distribution. Future work could integrate eye‑tracking or neuro‑aesthetic measures to assess how readers process fragmented digital poems in real time.
Ecocritical perspectives position the beach as a liminal ecotone where land, sea, and sky intersect, symbolizing transition, loss, and renewal (Morton, 2010). In feminist ecocriticism, the beach operates as a “maternal shoreline,” echoing the body’s own porous boundaries (Stoddart, 2018). The presence of “Beach” in the title of MomComesFirst thus positions the poem within a tradition of works that use marine imagery to articulate reproductive and ecological cycles (e.g., Plath, 1963; Kincaid, 2003). MomComesFirst.24.06.21.Brianna.Beach.Give.Me.A....
The spatial cluster (21 % of tokens) highlighted beach, waves, sand, horizon. Participants associated the beach with “a place of waiting,” “the edge between past and future,” and “a space where a mother might stand looking out at an unborn child.” In IPA, the beach emerged as a liminal metaphor:
“The beach is where the tide comes in and out—just like the way a mother’s love can feel like it’s pulling you in and pushing you forward.” (P‑09, 35‑year‑old mother) Ecocritical perspectives position the beach as a liminal
The confluence of maternal primacy and liminality creates a maternal shoreline where identity formation is both anchored and fluid.
The completion cluster (15 % of tokens) featured verbs such as give, receive, complete, answer. The ellipsis generated the highest engagement per post (mean comments = 4.7, versus 2.1 for comparable posts without ellipsis). Interviewees offered a range of continuations: “Give me a song,” “Give me a story,” “Give me a *hand.” Notably, 68 % of participants reported feeling compelled to supply the missing element, indicating a strong sense of co‑authorship. “The beach is where the tide comes in
“The ellipsis is like a pause in a conversation. I feel like I have to fill it, otherwise the poem is unfinished, like a mother’s lullaby left without a final note.” (P‑02, 22‑year‑old college student)
MomComesFirst.24.06.21.Brianna.Beach.Give.Me.A....
An Interdisciplinary Examination of Maternal Primacy, Temporal Displacement, and Spatial Narrative in Contemporary Digital Poetry