Yesterday's post was a little weird, right? Yeah, I know. But believe it or not, there’s actually a story behind that scribbly mess!!
I read these daily posts on this cool little site (glow*) run by some very inspirational girls. And yesterday Miss Julia (a personal and professional role model of mine) challenged the readers to do something they normally wouldn'tdo.
Anyways, I decided to take part in this little challenge and awarded myself with the task of writing some poetry.
Now here's the thing with me and poetry.
To put it simple, I just don't get it.
I'm not a fan of lyrical gibberish, I have a very negative impression in my head of people who actually write the stuff are more like caricatures (angry angst ridden teens, old men disconnected from reality, lovestruck fools, etc...), and I always get the impression that it takes a certain amount of practice or skill to actually decipher anything worthwhile from the text. So in my head the whole practice is very pretentious and elitist.
Now don't get me wrong! I am completely aware that most of my opinions on the topic are pretty much ignorance based. I get that if I love lyrics, Shakespeare, and English then a part of me is already in love with the stuff. Not to mention, I genuinely want to be one of those people who say they LIKE reading poetry. I get that there is inherent good in the medium. But for whatever reason I've never naturally connected to a poem like I have with other forms of art. I haven’t ever sat down to read a poem and come away from it feeling awe or inspiration like I do with other forms of art. (I think the one exception to this is that’s considered poetry correct? Because that moved me deeply.)
Anyways, yesterday I tried to break through my own assumptions. The ones I had about myself and the ones I had about the art form.
Here's where I'm REALLY going to show my ignorance (even more than what I've already shown *shock*).
I don't even know what constitutes a poem as a poem. I don't know if there are ’rules’. I don't know if rhyming things is considered juvenile. I don't even know if what I wrote could be considered a poem. Not just because of the ’rules’ thing. Also because the whole time I was jotting things down I found myself humming and singing out the lines...
Specifically in a very country/bluegrass melody... (Don’t judge me. I've been listening to an ungodly large amount of folk music recently.)
In fact, I THINK that my poem resembles a song much more than it resembles a poem...
But that’s cool right? Because here’s what I'm getting from this whole thing.
I don't think there *are* rules.
I think you can kinda do whatever you want and just call it a poem. And the only thing that should constitute it as GOOD or LEGIT should be its power to inspire you. A poem doesn’t need much more validation than that, right? Actually, no piece of art should have a higher form of measurement.
If something makes you laugh, cry, get angry. Then it's legit. If it resonated deep within you, then it matters. Validation doesn't need to come from anywhere other than inside yourself. I don't need to have so many rules for MYSELF. If I want to write a song, do it. If I want to call something a poem, go for it. If I want to be a painter for the week, THEN GET OUT THE PAINTS AND GO TO TOWN.
No more of this ’if I don't do it right I'm not doing it at all thing’. That's why I’m here. That's why started this project to write everyday.
Being vulnerable. Expressing yourself. Putting it all out there is all that matters.
A challenge today is a breakthrough tomorrow.
I read these daily posts on this cool little site (glow*) run by some very inspirational girls. And yesterday Miss Julia (a personal and professional role model of mine) challenged the readers to do something they normally wouldn'tdo.
Anyways, I decided to take part in this little challenge and awarded myself with the task of writing some poetry.
Now here's the thing with me and poetry.
To put it simple, I just don't get it.
I'm not a fan of lyrical gibberish, I have a very negative impression in my head of people who actually write the stuff are more like caricatures (angry angst ridden teens, old men disconnected from reality, lovestruck fools, etc...), and I always get the impression that it takes a certain amount of practice or skill to actually decipher anything worthwhile from the text. So in my head the whole practice is very pretentious and elitist.
Now don't get me wrong! I am completely aware that most of my opinions on the topic are pretty much ignorance based. I get that if I love lyrics, Shakespeare, and English then a part of me is already in love with the stuff. Not to mention, I genuinely want to be one of those people who say they LIKE reading poetry. I get that there is inherent good in the medium. But for whatever reason I've never naturally connected to a poem like I have with other forms of art. I haven’t ever sat down to read a poem and come away from it feeling awe or inspiration like I do with other forms of art. (I think the one exception to this is that’s considered poetry correct? Because that moved me deeply.)
Anyways, yesterday I tried to break through my own assumptions. The ones I had about myself and the ones I had about the art form.
Here's where I'm REALLY going to show my ignorance (even more than what I've already shown *shock*).
I don't even know what constitutes a poem as a poem. I don't know if there are ’rules’. I don't know if rhyming things is considered juvenile. I don't even know if what I wrote could be considered a poem. Not just because of the ’rules’ thing. Also because the whole time I was jotting things down I found myself humming and singing out the lines...
Specifically in a very country/bluegrass melody... (Don’t judge me. I've been listening to an ungodly large amount of folk music recently.)
In fact, I THINK that my poem resembles a song much more than it resembles a poem...
But that’s cool right? Because here’s what I'm getting from this whole thing.
I don't think there *are* rules.
I think you can kinda do whatever you want and just call it a poem. And the only thing that should constitute it as GOOD or LEGIT should be its power to inspire you. A poem doesn’t need much more validation than that, right? Actually, no piece of art should have a higher form of measurement.
If something makes you laugh, cry, get angry. Then it's legit. If it resonated deep within you, then it matters. Validation doesn't need to come from anywhere other than inside yourself. I don't need to have so many rules for MYSELF. If I want to write a song, do it. If I want to call something a poem, go for it. If I want to be a painter for the week, THEN GET OUT THE PAINTS AND GO TO TOWN.
No more of this ’if I don't do it right I'm not doing it at all thing’. That's why I’m here. That's why started this project to write everyday.
Being vulnerable. Expressing yourself. Putting it all out there is all that matters.
A challenge today is a breakthrough tomorrow.
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