Bad Poetry

[charred violet]

Water-boarded metaphors.
Rhyme-schemes forced
to be linguistic whores.
Thesauri strewn about - tattered and torn.
Kerosene-soaked-clichés ready to burn.

Newsflash, hotshots:
Poetry isn’t a Shift+F7 mad-lib.
It isn’t a way to romanticize stalking;
or masquerade unhealthy obsession,
under the guise of unrequited affection.
Calling something “poetry,”
doesn’t grant perspicacity,
or transfigure triviality.
If words aren’t tethered to insight,
your “poem” is just dumb.

Can you dissect the ubiquity of reality,
in ways that make people stagger?

Or do you expectorate and regurgitate,
cloyingly redundant blather?

Do you actually care to smith your words?
Or is yours,
the work,
of a hapless poseur?

~

Write only what you know -
If you’re confounded by interesting things,
stop trying to write;
go wander the world,
‘til you puzzle-out a few mysteries.

Write in your own voice -
If you lack clever ways,
to craft a striking phrase,
sit quietly and read,
until language bends the knee.

Write more descriptively.
Start sentences with verbs.
Pay attention to your syllables.
Experiment with form.
Endeavor to fail spectacularly.
Seek critiques full of harsh truth…
But for love of all things holy,
STOP. PUBLISHING. TOO. SOON.
Live alone with your work,
until you come to hate it,
then ask other people, if they hate it too.

This is what poets do.

[rose shell]

I like the style and i’ve never seen a poem like this before. Good rhymes and good words. Very much gatekeeping core and “you don’t understand” but i love it

Thesauri isn’t a word also

I love the second stanza a lot

“Linguistic whores” 😭😭🤣🤣

[charred violet]

Thanks, I’m still fiddling with it… Coincidentally, even as you’re reading it, I was changing the final stanza. Any thoughts after the edits?

PS - Google “plural of thesaurus” I think you’ll be surprised.

[rose shell]

I like this alotttt

[rose shell]

its good after edits

[rose shell]

i tried and no dice, but i’ll take your word

[charred violet]

@median viper

[boreal junco]

i agree with your message with this poem to a certain extent. it's very important to recognise how we should craft our poetry cleverly, and this poem personally opens an interesting conversation about language vs meaning within poetry. however, its also important to recognise how each good poet is unique - everyone has different experiences and feelings. it would be distasteful to disregard one's work simply because someone doesn't enjoy it, or think's that it's too basic to understand. you could argue that in the second stanza, your reference to a specific type of poetry seems strange to disregard, since that could be down to a matter of personal opinion and it seems ignorant to slander specific themes, which when you really delve into the meaning of poetry could mean more. just because a certain topic is deemed to be "over-done", it doesn't invalidate it entirely, as long as a work is crafted by someone themselves, its fine for someone to explore personal themes. it gives an almost pretentious impression to lower the signifiance of certain poetry, and telling people that it's not 'real poetry'. alot of poetry possesses a multitude of interpretions, some maybe not even intended by the writer, so it's essential to realise that no-one with non-plagarised, orginal poems is less-worthy of someone else, simply because they have a type of poetry you don't agree with, or don't use enough sophisticated language etc. I in no way mean any hostility through my comment, I am simply telling you my personal thoughts about some messages in your poem, I do agree partly with your poem, and it could teach an important lesson to many including me. However I believe that by putting down other forms of poetry is not the best way to go about doing so. I'd love to hear your further thoughts or anything you think I may have misinterpreted. Sorry for the long comment it was difficult to express my thoughts into words, I adore your vocabulary though and think you're extremely talented!!

[charred violet]

I’m curious what made you think I was discounting or disparaging “a specific type of poetry” or a “specific theme.” The objection I intended to raise in the second stanza was not with people who write honestly of love… rather, with what seems to be an increasing trend of people conflating unhealthy obsession with romantic gesture under the guise of “being poetic.” Perhaps I need to rework to make myself more clear.

[charred violet]

And the “gate-keeping” aspect is intentional and a bit tongue in cheek. Of course I’m not in charge of what makes poetry “good” or “bad.” Of course subjectivity, preference, and the reader’s own perspective are important. The real point of the piece was to instigate a bit of thought and illustrate that anybody can write words and call it poetry… but I’m of the opinion (just my opinion) that ya actually have to work at if you want to call yourself a poet.

[boreal junco]

When you said,
" It isn’t a way to romanticize stalking;
or masquerade lust-laden infatuation,
under the guise of unrequited love."
it just seemed extremely specific, as if you were almost making a direct reference to people's poetry, I think that your idea of some people writing poetry just for the sake of "being poetic" seems abit odd, as if you were trying to criticise other people's works simply because they have conveyed their message by "conflating unhealthy obsession with romantic gesture" , when this could be possibly intentional, or even metaphorical to portray their love. Referencing a very specific poem type seems like a direct attack at certain poetry, I agree that people could be writing it just for the sake of writing poetry, but you must also see how one could be doing this as a genuine device to convey their message, rather than actually "romanticising stalking" which seems abit of an extreme comparison. I strongly agree with how poetry can not be it's greatest form unless you have read and studied other poetry, which shows us that poetry wouldn't be good if it wasn't for other works, inspiration is the source of all creation, so to criticise people for writing poetry considered to be part of an "increasing trend" is confusing to me. Once again, I find it quite hard to articulate my thoughts. But with your further explanation, I now understand better your intentions, and I see where you're coming from. I just think that calling out certain poetry isn't the best way to convey your message, and could feel almost invalidating to someone's poetry that has been misinterpreted.

[charred violet]

Yeah… I am criticizing it. “Poetry” that conflates unhealthy obsession with unrequited affection is “bad poetry.” You’re free to disagree with me, but that’s precisely what I intended to convey.

Consider a parallel in visual art: the nude human form can be artistic. A nude photograph or painting can be interpreted subjectively. Does that mean that every AI generated nude depiction is a work of visual art? Can criticism be rendered on those that conflate the artistic value of the human form with unhealthy creations and render an opinion that some of these creations are “bad art”? I get that it’s subjective, but my subjective perspective is what I was conveying.

[boreal junco]

In my opinion, I wouldn't generalise specific ideas as "bad poetry", as there could be many subliminal morals or interpretations. I do now believe that I hold a more informed perspective of your message, and althought I might not agree with something, we could go on for days, and like you said It's all subjective. Thanks for your responses, i found it interesting to see your side.

[rose shell]

I agree with @boreal junco , but i’m not trying to further the conversation. While I like this poem, I feel you wanted to say “Well I’m a real poet who puts meaning in my poems and they’re unique, good, and special but…screw all these other people.” F* my poetry right? That’s the feeling I feel readers will get from this. Anyway, it was a good poem at the end of the day.

[median viper]

Heya! What can I weigh in on?

[median viper]

I enjoyed the poem! For Ars Poetica, I may suggest doing a few stanzas in classical verse juxtaposed for effet, maye something in trimeter.

[marsh totem]

that's very informative and fun to read!
I'll keep it by my side when I'm writing.

[remote cargo]

I really like this poem! I'm not usually a fan of rhyming poems but i think this changed my mind 😄