Do not be cross with poetry

[Erthona]

There are also those people who have nothing to say, and so pass off crap as being inscrutable. The big question is, are they doing so purposefully, are they doing so because that's what they were taught to do, or do they simply do not know that is what they are doing?

If a poem engenders strong emotions in me, I kneel to it and bring it gifts. It goes without saying they are also intellectually stimulating, although the word "stimulating" seems much too small of a word to describe the event.
I must add, very few poems have done so. I consider these poems the model for which I should strive for in writing poetry and would like to one day write such a poem, but that possibility is exceedingly small.

BTW shem it is emanate, or emanation.

xoxo

cutie 42 indeed! "You always end with a jade’s trick. I know you of old."

dale

[shemthepenman]

There are also those people who have nothing to say, and so pass off crap as being inscrutable. The big question is, are they doing so purposefully, are they doing so because that's what they were taught to do, or do they simply do not know that is what they are doing?

If a poem engenders strong emotions in me, I kneel to it and bring it gifts. It goes without saying they are also intellectually stimulating, although the word "stimulating" seems much too small of a word to describe the event.
I must add, very few poems have done so. I consider these poems the model for which I should strive for in writing poetry and would like to one day write such a poem, but that possibility is exceedingly small.

BTW shem it is emanate, or emanation.

xoxo

cutie 42 indeed! "You always end with a jade’s trick. I know you of old."

dale

i have no doubt it is. . . but what?

[Lizzie]

If a poem engenders strong emotions in me, I kneel to it and bring it gifts. It goes without saying they are also intellectually stimulating, although the word "stimulating" seems much too small of a word to describe the event.
I must add, very few poems have done so.

Care to share your favorite?

[Leanne]

Care to share your favorite?

There's already a thread for that

[next]

There are also those people who have nothing to say, and so pass off crap as being inscrutable. The big question is, are they doing so purposefully, are they doing so because that's what they were taught to do, or do they simply do not know that is what they are doing?

If a poem engenders strong emotions in me, I kneel to it and bring it gifts. It goes without saying they are also intellectually stimulating, although the word "stimulating" seems much too small of a word to describe the event.
I must add, very few poems have done so. I consider these poems the model for which I should strive for in writing poetry and would like to one day write such a poem, but that possibility is exceedingly small.

"very few poems have done so" ...

A passage from Carmen Laforet's The Island and the Demons  (loosely paraphrased as I can't remember it exactly):

Mateo: "Such a beautiful woman!"
Diego: "You think her beautiful? Ah Mateo, you are so easily pleased."
Mateo: "And lucky. Unlike you, I live in a world full of beautiful women."

[ellajam]

There are also those people who have nothing to say, and so pass off crap as being inscrutable. The big question is, are they doing so purposefully, are they doing so because that's what they were taught to do, or do they simply do not know that is what they are doing?

If a poem engenders strong emotions in me, I kneel to it and bring it gifts. It goes without saying they are also intellectually stimulating, although the word "stimulating" seems much too small of a word to describe the event.
I must add, very few poems have done so. I consider these poems the model for which I should strive for in writing poetry and would like to one day write such a poem, but that possibility is exceedingly small.

"very few poems have done so" ...

A passage from Carmen Laforet's The Island and the Demons  (loosely paraphrased as I can't remember it exactly):

Mateo: "Such a beautiful woman!"
Diego: "You think her beautiful? Ah Mateo, you are so easily pleased."
Mateo: "And lucky. Unlike you, I live in a world full of beautiful women."

Ha, it's like people who say they can't find anyone to date, wtf?

Among the Poems You Love thread (and the reading they inspired) and the pieces of their own that our members have posted there are many that have touched me but I have to admit that I pick up those slim volumes of current poetry whenever I come across them, waiting to be clobbered, and it's a pretty rare occurance.

[Leanne]

I think it's fair to say that I've run across quite a few contemporary poets in my time... I have dwelt among them, virtually speaking, since the early 2000s and enjoyed many poems. Even out of the thousands I've read, there are only a handful of poets whose work I will always return to and be delighted by (and not ever poem of theirs, because that's just dumb and doesn't happen, nobody bats 1000 in poetry). Some are here: Todd, Mercedes, CJ Chaffin (where is he these days? Slacker!). Some are scattered to the far corners of the globe: Alia Hussain Vancrown, Gary Brown, Gabriel Ricard, Norman Milliken. Google them and you may or may not be disappointed, who knows? There are others whose poetry I like often, but whose work doesn't quite resonate with me in the same way (sometimes because it's just too similar to what I'd write myself, because I prefer to seek out difference). There are plenty of people whose poetry I like, but who I wouldn't have a beer with at the pub (the universal indicator for human decency), because the poem is not the person.

Now, where was I going with that? Oh yes. Meaning. Because I read a lot of poems by a particular poet (or set of poets), I can see patterns in what they write. The poem that maybe seemed quite obscure in isolation becomes a piece in a tapestry. I choose these poets because the tapestry is rich and vibrant, and although the design might not be one of photorealistic quality, it is exciting and ever-changing. Yes, a poem should stand alone as a work of art, but it is much more relevant and fascinating when placed alongside other objects of significance -- whether it's from the poet's collection, or from the gallery of your own experience.