What Do You Want In A Poem?

MrsTurner2013 · Post by **MrsTurner2013** » 22 Sep 2020, 06:52

If you are like me, there are reasons as to why you read poetry. When I sit down to read a new poem I am wanting to be intrigued and surprised. I want to be challenged to look at something in a different way. If the poem is not challenging a theory or concept that I have either not considered, or change my point of view on a subject, I am less likely to read it. We all have our preferences to the poetry we read. What are yours? What makes a good poem to you? Do you like them to be simplistic or more complex? Why?

For example, "Tuft of Flowers" by Robert Frost shows how something as simple as mowing a yard can inconvenience a butterfly. It was a concept that took me by surprise because I had never thought about the reason why a butterfly circles the spot where a flower use to be. Do you have any poems that changed your perspective about something?

Nana2_ · Post by **Nana2_** » 23 Sep 2020, 15:32

Well my first motive in a poem is that I want Is something that draws my attention, my interests and I feel I am into a new world. The second is wisdom. I often read them but the lesson got from there, that what may make you like them more and more.

lavkathleen · Post by **lavkathleen** » 27 Sep 2020, 00:51

What do I want in a poem? I want to feel things. I want the writer to tell me things that I don't already know. I want them to be honest, and maybe even vulnerable.

My personal favorite is from Alfonso Manalastas' Bible & Belligerence, "Juxtaposing Hotel Luna". It's about colonialism, about how we were terrorized and conquered by foreigners and how we simply embrace their culture and the bloody history they left instead of breaking away from it. The way it was written was eye-opening, but also scary and heartbreaking.

MrsTurner2013 · Post by **MrsTurner2013** » 27 Sep 2020, 22:43

lavkathleen wrote: ↑27 Sep 2020, 00:51 What do I want in a poem? I want to feel things. I want the writer to tell me things that I don't already know. I want them to be honest, and maybe even vulnerable.

My personal favorite is from Alfonso Manalastas' Bible & Belligerence, "Juxtaposing Hotel Luna". It's about colonialism, about how we were terrorized and conquered by foreigners and how we simply embrace their culture and the bloody history they left instead of breaking away from it. The way it was written was eye-opening, but also scary and heartbreaking.

I agree with you completely! Sincere and eye opening make the best poems! Sounds like an interesting poem I'll have to look into it. Thanks for the suggestion!

lavkathleen · Post by **lavkathleen** » 27 Sep 2020, 22:51

MrsTurner2013 wrote: ↑27 Sep 2020, 22:43
lavkathleen wrote: ↑27 Sep 2020, 00:51 What do I want in a poem? I want to feel things. I want the writer to tell me things that I don't already know. I want them to be honest, and maybe even vulnerable.

My personal favorite is from Alfonso Manalastas' Bible & Belligerence, "Juxtaposing Hotel Luna". It's about colonialism, about how we were terrorized and conquered by foreigners and how we simply embrace their culture and the bloody history they left instead of breaking away from it. The way it was written was eye-opening, but also scary and heartbreaking.
I agree with you completely! Sincere and eye opening make the best poems! Sounds like an interesting poem I'll have to look into it. Thanks for the suggestion!

No problem!

I write poems like this, though it's scary to let people know about your feelings and deep thoughts.

Georgephilips · Post by **Georgephilips** » 04 Oct 2020, 08:09

Nana2_ wrote: ↑23 Sep 2020, 15:32 Well my first motive in a poem is that I want Is something that draws my attention, my interests and I feel I am into a new world. The second is wisdom. I often read them but the lesson got from there, that what may make you like them more and more.

I agree with your opinion