Two Flavors

In my creative writing class, we just started the poetry section. I've always had a sort of love-hate relationship with poetry.

On the one hand, I can be a fairly proficient poet when I have the motivation and I set my mind to it. On the other hand, I rarely have said motivation. Poetry is rarely my chosen form of expression, and when it is, it's not exactly something I'd share with my creative writing class.

But beyond writing it, poetry is sort of an odd brew in that, in my mind, it comes in two flavors, one desirable and one undesirable. The undesirable type is that which is obscure to the extreme, nonsensical, and entirely meaningless save for that meaning which the reader forcibly imprints on the poem.

The desirable type is that which takes some form of truth or meaningful experience and delivers it in a truly profound and powerful way that, while perhaps not immediately recognizable, becomes clear when subjected to careful consideration.

I think the difference between the two is largely a matter of degree. Some poets plant enough clues in their poetry so that readers can reach the conclusion that the poet intended without having to track said poet down and interrogate him. Some ramble about their topic and speak in opaque metaphors, forcing the readers to fill in the gaping holes on their own.

Maybe it's just that I'm not an English person, or a poetry person, or whatever else. Maybe other people are much better at finding the meaning behind poetry than I am. But I feel like if you're writing poetry, other people should be able to read it and, with enough thought, find that emotion or thought which sparked the words you created, not wander aimlessly through the possibilities.