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 A place for discussion on poetry, reviews, contests, etc. |
DISCUSSION: Tips for Writing Meaningful Poetry “I am the only one who can write my poems.” ~ Joe Bunting Your poem should be about something that matters to you. It doesn’t have to be from your real-life experience, but it needs to express something you feel strongly about. Of course, your poem doesn't have to be only serious or dramatic. It might be light-hearted or whimsical or cheerful, too. Don’t try to copy another poet’s style. Your poem should be written in your own voice so that your personality gleams through. Part of what makes poems meaningful is that they are written from the point-of-view of each particular poet. Use your own emotions and experiences for inspiration. Not all poetry is autobiographical, but a poem should reflect the heart and soul of the poetry writer. Instead of using vague or general ideas, use imagery to “show” the reader what you mean. Choose interesting words, including figurative language, to express your ideas. However, don’t force unnatural or disingenuous wording into your poem. ><><><><><>< In these poems, each poet’s voice comes shining through. HIGH FLIGHT by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings, Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. (source: https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/poem/high-flight/) Nest by Jeffrey Harrison It wasn't until we got the Christmas tree into the house and up on the stand that our daughter discovered a small bird's nest tucked among its needled branches. Amazing, that the nest had made it all the way from Nova Scotia on a truck mashed together with hundreds of other trees without being dislodged or crushed. And now it made the tree feel wilder, a balsam fir growing in our living room, as though at any moment a bird might flutter through the house and return to the nest. And yet, because we'd brought the tree indoors, we'd turned the nest into the first ornament. So we wound the tree with strings of lights, draped it with strands of red beads, and added the other ornaments, then dropped two small brass bells into the nest, like eggs containing music, and hung a painted goldfinch from the branch above, as if to keep them warm. (source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55885/nest-56d237e2d619c) Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted Kooser He was a big man, says the size of his shoes on a pile of broken dishes by the house; a tall man too, says the length of the bed in an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man, says the Bible with a broken back on the floor below the window, dusty with sun; but not a man for farming, say the fields cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn. A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves covered with oilcloth, and they had a child, says the sandbox made from a tractor tire. Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole. And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames. It was lonely here, says the narrow country road. Something went wrong, says the empty house in the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars in the cellar say she left in a nervous haste. And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard like branches after a storm—a rubber cow, a rusty tractor with a broken plow, a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say. (source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52935/abandoned-farmhouse) ><><><><><>< If you’d like, share a poem you’ve written that communicates to readers the strong feelings you have for the subject of that poem. |
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