Conquering some common fears
poetry edition
As a mom who spends a majority of my day making up songs to please the many whims of a two-and-a-half year old, who has to write between diaper changes and slobbery baby cuddles, whose entire routine revolves around messes and inconvenient interruptions…I am a little weary. I wrote about some of my weariness in my journal a few weeks ago, and here is one of the things I am weary of: the tendency of poets (myself included) to talk about poetry as if it is a deeply mystical practice, as if by simply putting words on the page we are baring our very souls, unlocking the secrets of the universe through pen and ink. I am guilty of this, I think. It is fun to romanticize things.
Not that I think it’s wrong to romanticize things! Romanticizing our lives can even be helpful, but it can go too far as well, I think. It’s ok to experience our lives and truly embrace the mundane, everydayness we are blessed with. But I am talking about mystifying the practice of poetry itself. As if when we sit down to write we are tapping into ethereal, mystical talent only given to a select few.
No, poetry is a practice that is accessible to everyone. And while writing it can be a way into deeper spiritual experiences (oftentimes I use poetry in my prayer journal), the practice itself is fairly straightforward. All you must do is begin. And it’s also okay for poems to be silly and weird and not deeply moving. (but more on that later.)
I learned a lot last year about poetry, about myself as an artist and the craft. And I realized, as I worked diligently to finish all thirty-six poems of my first chapbook draft, that I was working against a lot of preconceptions, and I was afraid of doing things wrong. But when I stopped treating poetry like a mystical art form, and more like a habit and a skill, that fear melted away. I wanted to share some of those takeaways with you!
Here are my top five things to NOT be afraid of when writing poetry:
Do not be afraid of METER and RHYTHM. The more familiar you are with conventional and traditional metered form, the easier it is to subtly utilize it in comtemporary poetry. Modern poetry might not be as “formal,” but it can still sing!
Do not be afraid to write many bad drafts of a poem. Crumple up the page, start it fresh, doodle random lines on your grocery list, cross out boring metaphors. The work of writing a poem is sometimes like carving, but YOU are creating the block of marble, and then taking your chisel to find the poem within. I call it “getting the bad stuff out of my system.” Sometimes I have a lot of images in my head that don’t belong in the poem. Writing them down gets them out of my way.
Do not be afraid that a poem will not “come to you.” Poems are not willow-the-wisps dancing outside your window, waiting to whisper in your ear and give you the gift of a beautiful, mystical poem. No, the greatest thing you can do for your craft is to sit at your desk and write every day. To continue the metaphor from #2, you are giving yourself material with which to form your poetry every time you scribble in your poetry notebook.
Do not be afraid to behave like an artist. I have a notebook with me at all times. I call it my poetry sketchbook. I decided that I would “sketch” in it much like a visual artist, and I don’t hesitate to write down a line or image that comes to me at random. Of course, sometimes my journal isn’t as accessible, so that’s where my notes app comes in handy. Siri has written many a notes for me while I am driving. Bonus: people will ask you why you are frantically reaching for your notebook during a dinner party, and you can tell them you’re a poet.
Do not be afraid to try poetry for the first time. Just like painting, tennis, knitting, crocheting, it is worth trying to write a poem and then deciding to leave your pens and paper in your storage room forevermore. Poetry can be a hobby. Poetry can be a way to express yourself in a new way. You may not like it. You may decide it’s not for you. But it can be a worthwhile venture if you’ve ever considered writing poetry.
Finally, do not be afraid to share your poetry. In solidarity, I will share an old poem that I wrote in one of my college poetry workshops. We had to write a sestina, and I was going through a creative dry spell…so I used an old Ronald McDonald cassette tape as inspiration. (I got the cassette tape in a happy meal and we listened to it in the car all the time when we were kids. Here is the link if you want to listen.) It is silly, weird, and honestly is a terrible poem. But I will give myself credit for just having fun and getting the assignment done on time. LOL
Space Alien Sestina
They traveled across the universe,
boarded their giant “UFO”
and in a great intergalactic shock
of gasoline and rocket power,
the space aliens drew close
to earth, ready to explore a new place.
They found Earth—a place
of little consequence in the universe—
because they had little gas, and it was close.
The space aliens landed their giant UFO
in a corn field, responsibly turning off the power
to avoid causing humankind great shock.
But it did cause quite a shock.
Earth is a place
where people are afraid of others’ power
and most don’t realize that the universe
is vast. They don’t believe in UFOs,
at least not ones so close.
The space aliens kept their doors closed
not wanting to doubly shock
humans by being seen in their UFO,
but decided that eventually they must explore this place.
McDonald’s exists nowhere else in the universe
and their hunger had a terrible power.
While the aliens debated food, humans powered
up their guns and pushed them very close
to their first visitors in the whole universe,
giving our space aliens quite the shock
to see this act of fear and recklessness take place
outside their neatly parked UFO.
The aliens marched out of their UFO,
green eyes glowing with special power
as they surveyed the corn and the guns placed
in the field, where preparations were coming to a close.
And much to the humans’ shock,
the aliens spoke a language that was universal
“We are sorry if we parked our UFO too close,”
they said. The humans apologized for their misplaced shock.
“Now, our hunger is powerful, and you look like the tastiest beings in the universe.”
There are lots of technical things I could do much better in this poem, and perhaps I’ll revise it and lean into the weirdness, tighten up the images, etc. But I think it’s fair to say it will never be a work of artistic genius. And that’s ok. I’m not afraid of not being good enough. I am just going to keep showing up.
thanks for the encouragement!
I actually love this poem😆