WHAT IS POETRY?
If you’ve asked yourself that seemingly simple question before and came up empty or full of answers, my philosophical response is that it cannot be defined with a few well-chosen words. As poetry is as infinite as the mind and spirit that animates them can grow to express and as boundless as the universe itself.
Words are strictly the vehicle used to travel through it, the spirit is what opens the ways to steer it in various directions and the mind is what chooses the way to go.
Again, that’s what makes poetry one of the most ”expansive” ways to travel. When the proper inspiration is harnessed, coupled with a keen sense of organic thoughts and imagery, a poem starts boasting the uncanny ability to stretch the limit of anything we hold to be true and simple to either support it, confront it, beautify it, question it, love it, defeat it, tame it, etc. The course followed does not necessarily know the exact wording of the end nor does it care for it as there is, in my mind, only a sole purpose: bring it to bear with integrity. As there are always backstories, personal references, or anchor points to which the words are attached and should gravitate towards to make it one’s own, relatable and genuine creation.
This process can trigger a ”back and forth” movement in the mind until it swings forward, fixates and feels fulfilled. Then the process continues in a sequence of massaging the spirit of the poem via regular repetition to capture its identity or essence in order to maintain its overall cadence/tempo and the words that best represent it. Repeating the composition out loud countless times is an exercise that can either make or break a poem as it needs to pass the rigorous exercise leading up to the tougher test…the test of time. If I love the poem as much the last time as I did the first…I got a winner! Otherwise, I amend or tweak as I see fit. This is also the period where I memorize the creation effortlessly as ”practice makes permanent.”
The identity of the poem is primarily the feeling that it conveys (emotions, gesturing, tone…) and the spiritual expression that it dictates. Every poem has a different vibe and your energy is what brings it to life. It’s usually expressed in a fairly unique way and all the facets of voice modulation and more make up the tempo. All words used are objects of your toolbox that establish connections and carry your message through people’s imagination.
Truth be told, you’ll hear the word ”like” very sparingly or not at all in my poems. It simply doesn’t resonate with me poetically nor phonetically and sounds too common. Therefore I substitute it with the following words: ”such as”, ”same way”, ”as” etc.
Lastly, I will finish with the main catalyst of each poem: the title. I view it as a kindred spirit or a little brother or sister to inspiration. Once the title is chosen, the process of visualization combusts to mentally outline the few elements required to layout the ”poem’s landscape” and start writing. There have been instances when I could picture the ending of a poem at the title stage but the poem’s spirit ultimately saw it differently.
So…poetry rules.
*This description explains in broad terms my process of writing poetry.