Why do I write poetry?
Why do I like writing form (poetry)?
Why do I prefer free verse (poetry)?
So with out further ado...
Why Form Poetry? Seriously, what on earth would possess me (or anyone for that matter) to constrain poetic inspiration to a rigid set of rules and parameters? Don't get me wrong, I understand the aesthetics of form: the way meter plays to the rhythm of the words, the way rhyming presents an appealing sound, the way repetition adds a flow and emphasize to a thought. I can definitely appreciate the use of poetic form both when I read silently or aloud. But to employ such constraints truly hurts my brain. Truth be told, poetic form and I have a love-hate relationship. I love to hate it.
The inner workings of my brain...
Now one might think that my logical - very structured - left brain would love the rules and guidelines set forth by form, but one of the benefits of writing is being able to shutdown that half of my brain. It provides me with an opportunity to allow the irrational thoughts and fears threatening to consume me run free--more like a mustang on the open range than a stallion let out in the fenced in pasture. If it were solely up to my brain, I would fight tooth-and-nail not to write in form. Although it is my brain...yes the lovely left brain...that has rationalized out why I like writing in form.
The irrational thoughts...
While I expressed in the previous installment, I started writing because it was a way for me to expel all of the crazy thoughts and fears that induce anxiety and stress. Poetry is my coping mechanism. I find, however, the older I get the harder it is for me to lull these thoughts to sleep, for though I talk about this being a purging of sorts, they always resurface. I find that the annoyance and struggles of writing in form, following a specific rhyme scheme or employing a certain meter, help to take my mind off of the emotions and feelings that I am writing about.
The lessening of pain...
It is sort of like biting my finger when I have a massive headache. My hurting finger helps to dull the ache (or my knowledge of the ache) in my head. I'm able to write out the emotions and feelings without having them overwhelm me. The harder, stronger, or deeper the emotion, the more I love to hate poetic form. It really is as simple as that.
The Q Series is a new theme. I decided Mondays needed to be spiced up a little bit. Plus I do kind of miss my incessant ramblings. How it works is quite simple. I take a topic of interest to me, personal or not, pose two - four questions, and spend several Mondays exploring the questions. I might miss the occasional Monday with this, but there is no hard and fast rule that I must post on Mondays...at least not yet.
Write whatever you write, however you write it, even if it's just for you. Every word, every letter which leaves your mind, a one word, one letter less pain and hence leads to permanent healing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting me, it is so appreciated.
smiles...form poetry does not come easy for me...i rejected form for the longest time as i felt it so constraining...i am trying now though...i feel you on the restraint it can give on the emotion as well...
ReplyDeleteThings change. We change. I used to write only form poetry. Now I write free-form every so often. Both have their uses.
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