To Work at Being a Poet
There are only three things you need:
The strength to not give up on a poem till it works,
the courage to give up on a poem that does not work,
and the trust in other people to help you distinguish between the two.
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This Quadrille (44 word poem) was prompted on Labor Day by those working poets over at DVerse Poets.
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I would love to know what you thought about this piece.
Please consider leaving a comment.
I think it works :-)
ReplyDeleteit works for me
ReplyDeleteThe Poets Serenity Prayer. I love it <3
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Packing a punch
ReplyDeleteMuch💛love
Great advice.
ReplyDeleteWise words. I would say the same for storytelling. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with your first two point Chris. My third point would have been : to realize a poem is never done. I edit and edit — and publish and republish, until I am bored with the essence of that particular poem. Then I let it marinate, sometimes published and sometimes not. Still I move on and come back to almost every one — at times, years later. I save every iteration of a poem, provided the iteration gave me with some level of satisfaction. I am of the mind that all poems have many plateaus. I do scrap the ones that simply fail to launch. I will always listen to critique, but I seldom embrace it, because ultimately, only I know what I was trying to say. I allowed critique to influence me in my early years, but most of the time it led me down a blind alley, losing completely my original intention. So it went in the oval file drawer and I would start over. Not saying my approach is right, just saying — every committed poet eventually develops their procedure — it is inevitable that “their voice” will emerge, the result of time invested. I never intentionally utilize (it has happened accidentally) established poetry forms for my personal poetry, except when I participate with the dVerse community — which I thoroughly enjoy. Sorry for rambling on here Chris. Feel free to erase this if you wish.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, a poem can be hard work, but at others it’s a doddle. It all depends on one’s frame of mind. I will pin your poem above my laptop, Christopher!
ReplyDeleteAh....but sometimes a poem is simply self-expression that needs airing on the page and sometimes that is enough in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this. I think maybe I need to write more and give up more.
ReplyDeleteSo well said, Christopher! This truly resonates.
ReplyDelete