On Writing Poems

Words from my less inferior self

tiny lump-like, grown soon into a mass nested
in a pouch, born into a gentle light flesh with tiny limbs and heart sealed in a bottle left off to the shores of critics.
life is like a fairytale but i'm no princess but an anatomy of your clenching-wordage / thorns of its cicatrice engraved beneath my skin—my

Waves

The past washes over me in waves,
Leaves me dripping with grief,
I said I healed.
"But how much?" You ask.
"Because grief is a myriad of hurtful memories,
You say you didn't drown in it,
You say you are keeping afloat.
But till when, I ask. 
How long can you swim across the ocean,
With your bare arms?"
"I don't know, I really

Pantoum On Writing Poetry

Your own unique voice. You’re your own boss.
Sprinkle of humble and profound words.
Speaking in tongues that often crisscross.
Ink takes flight as experiential and seasonal birds.

Sprinkle of humble and profound words.
A smattering of what’s mattering in life.
Ink takes flight as experiential and seasonal birds -
The suffering, the woe, the pain, and strife.

A smattering of what’s mattering

On Writing Poetry

With one hand behind my back
I slash and stalk
With deft steps and careful tack
I counter and block

I slash and stalk
My foe
I counter and block
Searching for the final blow

My foe
Offers no complaint to
Searching for the final blow
And bares its throat on cue

Offers no complaint to
An ending soon to come
And bares its throat on cue
To put an

On Writing a Triolet

Triolets have an interesting pattern ABaAabAB
It is a mystery to me how this pattern evolved
With some attributing it to a lazy poet, you see,
Triolets have an interesting pattern ABaAabAB.
A Triolet has no C, and, clearly no need for a D
If the poet makes it through line 6, problem solved
Triolets have an interesting pattern ABaAabAB
It is

On Writing Contemporary Poetry

Are contemporary poets wallowing in meaningless rubbish?
Can they be called poets whose works are incomprehensible?
Without regard for meter, rhyme, or rhythm, I think, gibberish,
They’re line after line of words strung together, nonsensible.

With a background in forensics, I should be able to understand.
I should be able, at a minimum, to determine consistent themes,
After finishing some of

On Writing Poetry

the right utensils
create swift words on paper
paper comes alive

On Writing Good Poetry

Long ago a professor said to me, “If it isn’t prose, it’s poetry,”
and I, a student knowing no better at the time, quickly agreed
for a wise teacher’s statements were most impressive to me,
but, wiser now, I would say his assessment is not guaranteed.

For some “poets” fling words on the page without any theme
Some even suggest

On Writing Poetry

If I but had the basic raw nerve and wit
I would show a few folks how to do it:
“Write a line or two with good rhythm and rhyme”
On Poetry Soup, however, that would be a crime!
We have some folks who write marvelous gibberish
If I may say, but, of course, I’m being somewhat devilish;
On the other

On Writing Drivel

I absolutely hate it when I write drivel
I’m thinking my brain is starting to shrivel,
And nothing coming out of it appears civil
Writer’s block is making my head swivel,
Perhaps I’ll take a fetal position and snivel,
Right now, I’m feeling incredibly superficial!

written December 24, 2021

On Writing Contest Poetry

I really believe poetry contests are beneficial
But I find myself writing lines so artificial
Trying to win a fleeting notice or score a trophy
That I lose sight of writing good, quality poetry.

Various requirements sometimes put me off
I think I’d rather be on the links playing golf
Instead of spending hours cramping my style
Writing a poem that might

On Writing Mediocre Poems

The most gifted poets who ever wrote
Occasionally penned gibberish and tripe
Even Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Keats
Sometimes were at a loss for words
In exchange for a royal coin or a token
Valued principles were sometimes broken
Even poets will follow the popular herds
To sit with the noted, the famous elites,
Writing mediocre poems of every stripe
I pluck my own beam,

On Writing

Writings are written for the time in which they're penned
Writing is not honest if it's afraid to offend
A writer cannot trouble themselves over how their words will age
Otherwise no writers ink would ever reach the page
In looking at the musings of pieces from years gone
It's useful to keep it in the frame of what was

On Writing Poetry

[A few years ago, I wrote this poem “On Writing Poetry” for creative writing students. I hesitated to put it on Poetry Soup, but I did some revisions and decided to share it with you. It was my intention to be helpful and to give some good advice.]  


I have been writing my thoughts

On Writing Minichu

A bit of time I take
when I sit down to labor on the Minichu
I want to make.

I’m better now
when writing Minichu brand new.
But how?

Well, I
practice! You too -
try!

A bit of time I take
when writing Minichu brand new.
Try!

Oct. 29, 2020
for Mohan Chutani's
 Let's Minichu On Writing Or Not Writing A Minichu Poetry Contest

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