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A Cool Drink of Words
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A Cool Drink of Words |
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bsquirrel
since 2000-01-03
Posts 7855
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She wants a cool drink of words to wet with its refreshment, uncomplicated by miscomprehension. To let its meanings slide, sentences and spaces. She wants a simple sense of satisfaction. She doesn't like routes that go back on themselves -- the wet rings from a lifted glass conjoined. She would rather be content with the basic sounds of speech. She does not want a thought to be annoyed. She wants a cool drink of words. One imbued with darkness -- but only just a scent of it, in haste. She's banging on the table. She has finished this new poem. She requests a drink to kill its taste. |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
I think the most important thing that I ever learned about poetry was that, most people who read your work won't bother to try and understand it... so whether or not it sounds good is how they decide whether or not they like it. Early on I got a lot of praise for really meaningless poetry that was filled with buzz-words and imagery. Recently I've been making an effort to have some content to my work... so that it's not just this "cool drink of words" you describe, but something more, something valuable. The sounds of the words themselves can be satisfying, sure... but you don't want to be baffled when people ask you what you meant by something, and you have to just say, "oh, it sounded so cool so I said it..." Maybe I'm misinterpreting your poem... but I would discourage the writing of empty poetry. It tends to make us too easily satisfied with our work. Now if you can make something that sounds really good, and means something that is true (if not significant), that is what poetry is for... It can be as simple as "I love you," or "You really hate my deep poetry so here's something simple with lots of cool adjectives, just for you." You can even draw something out to a ridiculously expanded description, to convey its beauty that can't be seen with eyes - only with words. Discuss how terrifying to you a bumblebee is... et cetera... Writer's block comes when you have trouble connecting style with depth... at least, that's how it works for me... just learn not to settle for one without the other. I think I may have gotten a tad off-topic... heh... sorry about that if I did, your poem just brought to mind, for me, the way people around me in my childhood, who hardly cared about poetry at ALL, responded to my earliest work. "This is fabulous?" "You think so? What was it about?" "Umm... I dunno." So much praise for style, no regard for depth. No wonder we're all so used to writing empty stylistic poetry... and no wonder there's such demand for it. Just my own opinion... some people might think poetry can be good just because it sounds good, what do I know? Parasite "Faith" means the will to avoid knowing what is true. |
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bsquirrel
since 2000-01-03
Posts 7855 |
I agree with you completely, LP. Personally, I always see content in my poems, but I also realize that some people don't care enough about my writing to want to find out what the words mean. Something like "Black-ice burn/within a softened stare" doesn't make sense to them, so therefore they think it's a cop-out or a direct attempt to be out-there and off-base. Well, those people can cheerfully keep churning out their own form of inoffensia, and I will gladly keep from reading it. I agree with Emily Dickinson, in that if a poem doesn't tear your head off, it's not a poem. This poem was a direct attack on the mentality that poetry should be simple, basic, satisfy the reader, and never challenge them. It would explain what plays on the radio, though. Mike |
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