abuse of art

abuse of art

 

 

words pistol-whipped to fit

into bloody stanzas

told to straighten up and fly right

to rhyme right

to rhythm right

to mean just one thing

not one more thing

just that one thing

that the poem confessed

alas the truth serum worked

 

a few of the words escaped

now the rhythm is askew

and some of the rhyme

i ask you

 

was it slant rhyme?

and is it still near?

 

can we capture it again?

or should we just let it run free verse?

 

and are meanings beaten out of poems

really meanings?

 

or just tired poems

giving in.

 

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

3/5/2020

Reviews

[Ted Kniffen]

I have a storehouse of poems in process that are reluctant to emerge in the form they think is their's. I have tried to force them, but the look is never good.
They've been told...floggings will continue until morale improves...to no avail.

So there they sit...patiently waiting...tormenting the mind every time the door opens and one is once again brought forth and the fight resumes.

Invariably they win and slide back into their cubbyholes...but now and then...;>}

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i hate it when that morale dips...the poems get depressed, and hide in the shadows.
j.

[Neville]

when is a poem not a poem?
when its ajar...
to get to the other side...
who's there...

Sheesh.. I dunno j.. I reckon some folk have the gift of making poetry out of almost anything... Now as for rules... well aint they meant to be broken

Door, chicken.. Me

N.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Emily Dickinson loved to break the rules...many famous poets went their own way...poetry has so many doors and windows...thank you, Neville,
j.

[Neville]

Thank you J,

N.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

There is a reason Art rhymes with heart. Art is from the heart and soul. So it should be allowed the freedom to grow as it grows and not be chained, restricted, straitjacket. Let’s stop torturing our hearts.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i second that emotion, Dhara...as Smoky and the Miracles sang...
j.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

Yayyyy let us all celebrate art 💕

[Lorry]

Only wee khan say watt is aloud and watt isn't Jacob.
There may be rules, but hey, if someone says you can't do that, it has to be done in order for them to say it,.making their comment moot, when it really should be mute.
An apt example of this for a writer, is the word thesaurus, whose literal definition was flower garden. When have you ever heard anyone call their flower garden that?
Ps...Im almost nearly maybe certain I heard that somewhere, but if not, call it artistic licence 😀

[Lorry]

Should have checked that first. It means treasure house, but one of the first, other than roget's was for plants, which was called the flower garden thesaurus.
A little information is a dangerous thing 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, true, a little info can be of the utmost danger.
thank you Lorry...for the insight and the smile,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

These lines remind me of a short failed relationship where the he was all.controlling, to the point he would suggest how I wore my hair and what clothes I wore. It was ike being in a straight jacket. I soon resented the fact that he was trying to mould me into someone I wasn't. You see it started with the hair and clothes, but if the relationship had continued I anticipated that it would progress to far more important things, like family and friends and my ideas. Funny enough I can see similar with poetry which is in strict rhyme and meter. Yes, that too can be restraining, but it can also be beautiful. Concentrate on the structure and at times you can lose out on the vocabulary. That's the journey you sent me on Jacob.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words and sharing how you related to this, Chris..
j.

[light and ashes]

Reading this brought to mind physical abuse that a lot of women go through. Sad. I think poems often take a life of their own. Did they ever really belong to us in the first place? Maybe a poem is like a good relationship lol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

or sometimes a bad relationship...but one nonetheless...thank you, light. i don't know that we ever really own poems...

j.

[light and ashes]

I don't know if we do either.

[Ookpik]

Do you mind elaborating on what you mean by this?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

read what you will from it...

[light and ashes]

I think that is the point lol

[Ookpik]

Subjectivity without explanation is belligerently conceited. But alright.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

not really....i feel poems are up to the readers to find meanings within, without the poets themselves putting labels on them...not conceited at all, just allowing the readers scope...there is rarely ever one meaning to a poem...

[Ookpik]

There is a line though - between what you meant to say and what people interpret your words as. The conceit comes from expecting people to know the difference carte blanche.

[Ookpik]

Or inadvertently asking them to, same difference.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i have no expectations on the reader...as i said, read as you will...
I always teach my poetry students not to worry about what the poet was thinking when he or she wrote the poem, but rather figure out what you are thinking when you read it.
if the poem is good enough...each reader will find something within. If i were to slam readers because they didn't get exactly what prompted me to write the poem....and get one particular meaning that i intended...that would express conceit.
j.
j.

[Ookpik]

No, that is a concession that you give students because they may or may not be capable of understanding what the poet originally intended.

Confusing the two is pity, that becomes conceit.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

as you wish...

[Ookpik]

Again, no, as is the truth of the thing.