Friday, December 8, 2017

The Problem with Poetry

I will illustrate the problem with poetry, using yesterday's poem as an illustration:

Tell me a story --
tell me about the echo in the hallway
when you sing,
(What's there to say? It echoes.)

tell me of silence.
(If I told you, it wouldn't be silence.)

Tell me the word that will help me understand you,
the word of your truth.
(Coffee.)

Tell me your name.
(You already know my name.)

*******
Well, THAT was an interesting conversation. Not at all what I expected.

2 comments:

  1. I like poetry for the reason that it allows you to express you thoughts in short well worded phrases. It can ask questions, give people the big picture, or allow you to reflect on concepts or events.
    This is Lanetta.

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    Replies
    1. I like poetry too, obviously! On the other hand, people don't always read poetry for deeper meanings, and I couldn't help but make fun of that. I once dated a guy who got a lot of my poetry because, of course, it was about him. This was, of course, a LONG time ago. But his wife approached me a few years later and said, "He kept all your poems. He showed them to me, and he told me he never understood them!"

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