Poetry's Cause

@ParadoxHaze,

ParadoxHaze wrote:

Ok, let's approach it this way. With a task. The following was selected fairly randomly and based on the discussion up to this point.
Here is a poem. Or, is it a poem? What makes it a poem or not a poem? Is it a good poem? Why or why not?

Come on out
It's ok
Suburban sprite
I've seen you
Getting around
Have you no mask
With the animals
In the silent cacophony
Ditsy dryad
So that's how it is
With a limp
From the wicked step
You went down
I picked you up
Sent you on your way
Naughty Nymph
You can't charm me

I could say that this is an excellent poem and some one else could come along and say it is terrible just due to the fact that the poem either speaks to me or the other person. Taste in poetry is very subjective. Whether a poem speaks to an individual, conjures up some sort of imagery, or relates to them, will influence how the individual judges the poem.

Anyway, I would say it is a good poem. It shows the reader what is going on rather than telling. Imagery comes into the mind rather than abstract words. Reading this I picture many people I have encountered here in my neck of the brick buildings.

@Theaetetus,

One problem with the above poem - no punctuation. Otherwise, not too shabby.

@Holiday20310401,

I don't think poetry necessarily needs punctuation. Seems more like a stylistic choice more than anything when it comes to poetry.

@Theaetetus,

Yes, the use of punctuation is a stylistic choice, and so poetry does not necessarily need punctuation. The poet has to ask himself whether or not punctuation is useful to the poem. In the above poem, I see no reason to disregard punctuation and reason to use it. I think it would help the reader get the flow of the words, especially on the first read.
The poet may disagree with my assessment for some reason - it's quite possible I've missed something.

@Theaetetus,

Poetry is only good if it speaks to me. But poetry should make one think and not just feel the moment of whatever the poem's thematic atmosphere is, IMO at least.

@Holiday20310401,

The poetry that I like most leaves me without a coherent thought and smiling. In other words, it is not about anything, it is just a form, an order, which is valuable in itself.

"Alas! I believe in the virtue of birds. And a feather is all it takes to make me die laughing." Joseph Delteil

"No sooner had I called forth the marble-admiral than he turned on his heel like a horse which rears at the sight of the North star and showed me, in the plane of his two-pointed cocked hat, a region where I was to spend my life." Roger Vitrac

@BrightNoon,

BrightNoon wrote:

The poetry that I like most leaves me without a coherent thought and smiling. In other words, it is not about anything, it is just a form, an order, which is valuable in itself.

"Alas! I believe in the virtue of birds. And a feather is all it takes to make me die laughing." Joseph Delteil

"No sooner had I called forth the marble-admiral than he turned on his heel like a horse which rears at the sight of the North star and showed me, in the plane of his two-pointed cocked hat, a region where I was to spend my life." Roger Vitrac

No form is without a relationship... If all you want is a smile.. Go to a dentist and ask for gas...

@Fido,

You are very simple Sir. And this is not a debate.

@BrightNoon,

Don't sir at me; I ain't sir-ing at you... Better ask for the premium...

@Holiday20310401,

I used to write quite a bit of poetry. Now, I'm not even sure if I've got it all or if I disposed of it at some point. Ultimately, I believe I decided that I was much better at expressing my feelings and ideas in other ways than with poetry.

Currently, I tend to find reading other people's poetry a bit boring.

@MuseEvolution,

MuseEvolution wrote:

I used to write quite a bit of poetry. Now, I'm not even sure if I've got it all or if I disposed of it at some point. Ultimately, I believe I decided that I was much better at expressing my feelings and ideas in other ways than with poetry.

Currently, I tend to find reading other people's poetry a bit boring.

It is literature in a nutshell...If you can do that well you should be able to do any literature well...By the time I felt like I could do it, I had more to say, and there is too much fiction already...It is hard enough to hit the truth when you are shooting at it. Any one with time for trick shooting has got too much time, and the fact is that no one has enough..

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