I used to write quite a few poems although I never studied poem structures or anything so I don’t think they were “good” poems but it was nice to have an outlet to express thoughts / feelings / hopes / fears etc outside of a diary format, which I never really got into. This kind of writing has slipped away as I’ve become more focused on completing a novel.
However, last night standing on a platform waiting for a tube, some lines just popped into my head and I had to note them down in my phone. I thought I’d share them on here as well:
Playing mind games with myself
Whispering words I don’t dare say aloud
Searching for something I can’t see
Running from the fear of regrets that follows me.
I suppose the form of poetry is by nature far more personal than writing a novel and you have to be in the right frame of mind to write in that style. A poem explores your world where as a novel you focus on what your characters think and feel. Even if the characters are thinly veiled disguises of yourself, you can play God when writing a novel – you direct their life courses and make changes that are not possible in the real world where the universal lesson is nothing turns out the way you plan.
Sometimes you do just have to write what your heart or writing muse if that exists tells you to and go with the writing flow. I’d never give up fiction for poetry but it’s a nice form to explore when the mood takes me. My reflective mood continued for the rest of the journey so I played Adele’s 21 on my iPod to accompany me home.
Have you ever written poetry?
Vix
xx
Megan
/ August 24, 2011Poetry is actually how I began writing. My first poems were written way back in elementary school when I was only about 11 years old and continued write them all throughout high school, college and there after. I didn’t stick to a certain form or verse, just kind of wrote whatever came as it did. I’ve always been a bit more hesitant to share my poetry as it tends to be even more personal than the pieces I’ve shared here. I have been tossing around the notion of posting one of them on here from time to time just to get some feedback… but that makes me really nervous! Silly, isn’t it considering all that I’ve shared on here to date!
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011I think you should go for it and share them, I’d love to read them!
Bonnie
/ August 24, 2011I’ll tackle one once or twice a year, and I’m very critical of what I write. I agree that it’s a nice change every once in a while. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to only write poems and nothing else, though.
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011I’m critical too! Like you, it’s nice to do now and again but I prefer fiction!
Maggie
/ August 24, 2011Poetry used to come into my head all the time, but now it’s coming less and less often. I’m not sure why this is… maybe because I have less idle time now than I had in the past.
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011I think it depends on mood and what you’re going through in life – it tends to come at the bad points for me
SuziCate
/ August 24, 2011Poetry is where my heart is…it’s my truest writing form because it comes unfiltered from my soul. It makes us think and reflect just as your words did this.
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011Ah lovely thought that it comes from your soul!
thewritecafe
/ August 24, 2011Wow you look great when you wait for the tube!
Great post. I have written poetry before but nothing particularly good. I do agree however, that when the mood strikes you have to write no matter what it is.
Thanks for sharing your poem. I really like it.
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011Haha I wish, I’d be the drowned rat
Thank you so much!
D...
/ August 24, 2011I don’t think there is a wrong way to write poetry. And I think it’s a wonderful way of just getting your feelings out.
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011Very true!
nrhatch
/ August 24, 2011I write poetry (and songs) with some degree of regularity and have had several poems published in poetry anthologies, newspapers, and magazines.
Poetry, far more than fiction, is a collaboration between reader and writer.
The value of poetry is not solely in what I intended to convey
It’s value lies in what the reader takes away
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011Ah you’re a professional then wow!
Deborah the Closet Monster
/ August 25, 2011I’ve only written a handful. Most of those were for primary education. An Uncomplicated House (that one about my mom’s mental illness), law school time-passing and Comic Con haiku and–if you count songs!–are about it for what I’ve done afterward. I do find it more difficult than longer form prose by far, for the same reason I find Twitter challenging.
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011I’ve managed to avoid Twitter so far, I’m not sure I’d be good at that form either!
Julia (AKA Jules)
/ August 25, 2011urgh, hated poetry as part of English at school. I much prefered writing song lyrics!
Jules x
LittleMissVix
/ August 25, 2011I like lyrics to but I can’t play an instrument so they’d stay just as words!
Tori Nelson
/ August 25, 2011I am giving you a bloggy high-five for poetry. It terrifies me. I’ve tried several times but every poem comes out sounding like a really cheesy kid’s song.
LittleMissVix
/ August 26, 2011Thanks Tori, I like a good high five! Don’t worry, mine is also pretty cheesy
lbdiamond
/ August 25, 2011I try to write poetry. I think it comes down to individual expression rather than “rules.”
I like your poem!
LittleMissVix
/ August 26, 2011I like that thought! Thanks
leashieloo
/ August 25, 2011I think your prose is quite good! I’m not good at poetry, myself. I’ve made some embarrassing attempts, but it’s not my forte.
LittleMissVix
/ August 26, 2011Ah bless you! Yeah I don’t think it’s my forte either but fun to experiment I guess!
Rach @ This Italian Family
/ August 26, 2011I used to write some poetry as a teen, but haven’t written any since. I definitely spent more time writing back then.
LittleMissVix
/ August 26, 2011Ah the angsty teen years – ripe for poetry
Nicole
/ August 26, 2011I’ve never been into writing poetry… but I definitely can appreciate it!
LittleMissVix
/ August 26, 2011Although sometimes I have no clue as to what they’re about