Poems

[Blood Princess]

It doesn't seem like many of you like poetry. I was just curious if I should stop posting them here at Pixie's since they aren't being viewed much anyway. Do many of you like poetry or just not content with reading in general? I know, life gets busy....just wondering how you all felt about the Erotic Poetry section.

[wyndhy]

while i'll agree that the poetry section is the probably the least viewed, i wouldn't let it stop me if i were you. :)
post them here and on a poetry forum. no need to deprive those of us who enjoy reading them :), but you do deserve to be able to give them to people who would be more responsive.

[africandan]

I confess, I hadn't dabbled much in the poetry section but I like the majority of your additions - I'll look more. I think the reason for my hesitation is that my views on poetry are quite strict. I just don't like 'poetry' that doesn't rhyme. In fact, more than that, I genuinely don't think a poem is a poem unless it rhymes. Your rhyming erotic poetry, however, is an interesting twist. Definitely keep it up.

[Blood Princess]

I've heard the opinion fro both side....rhyming and not. Not sure which one wins out the most. I seem to like rhyming because it's like a game for me. On the other hand, I try to cater to those who don't like rhyme so much. Either way, I would absolutely be thrilled if more people read my and other peoples' work.

[africandan]

The thing I've never understood is what differentiates 'non-rhyming poetry' and normal prose? Unless there is a definite definition that can make one thing one and the other something else, they are indistinguishable and can't be considered separate genres.

Do you write just poetry? Or other stuff too? I'll promise to read yours... well, the stuff that rhymes anyway!

[Blood Princess]

From what I've learned in my poetry class, the only difference between nonrhyming poetry and prose is the line breaks. Prose tends to have complete thoughts in each line while poetry has the lines broken to prevent complete thought in each line.

[africandan]

Ummm... that would, at least, be a definition. Though I suspect it is one that isn't strictly ahered to by those who write 'non-rhyming poetry' and I suspect many such poets would disagree with it.

For me poetry will be the rhyming stuff - there's a real art to it (and like you say, a bit of a game) and when someone gets it right it provides some of the best forms of expression we know.

[Lilith]

I think the people who visit the site came here originally looking for reading materials. We have not always had a seperate poetry section. I believe the poetry most likely got more views when it was not a category on it's own. While I may enjoy a poem that I stumble across, I do not typically seek out poetry when I am looking for something erotic to read. I have enjoyed all the works you have posted.

[Blood Princess]

Don't worry, I like to break the rules. My definition of prose is as follows:

Complete thoughts in each line, both rhyming and not rhyming (line breaks be damned, lol).

As for poetry:

Poetry is the ability to capture thoughts, images, and emotions on a page. Rhyming or not, it is how well the "poem" depicts how the poet is feeling and can inspire others to give more in depth thought to just words on a page. I've always believed that the best poems are written from the heart.

[Blood Princess]

...I have enjoyed all the works you have posted.

Thank you very much!

[africandan]

Poetry is the ability to capture thoughts, images, and emotions on a page. Rhyming or not, it is how well the "poem" depicts how the poet is feeling and can inspire others to give more in depth thought to just words on a page. I've always believed that the best poems are written from the heart.

Whilst I hate to risk spoiling things by being a pernickety bastard... your definition of poetry could include just about anything. "I love you" would, by your definition, be a poem. In fact, "FUCK!!!" could also be a poem.

And some of the most famous poems in the world could, in fact, not be poems if what they portray is not what the poet actually intended them to be.

On a less picky note might I advocate that the best poems are not written from the heart - though this is probably true - but rather speak to our hearts. The poems I like the most are those that instantly make me feel like they've expressed something profound about my thoughts or feelings - even if I didn't write them. And the medium makes it feel succinct and well expressed - as if it were capturing the essence of that thought or feeling - unlike my writing style which, as you can tell, tends towards the long winded philosophical ramble!

[Blood Princess]

Whilst I hate to risk spoiling things by being a pernickety bastard... your definition of poetry could include just about anything. "I love you" would, by your definition, be a poem. In fact, "FUCK!!!" could also be a poem.

True.....sort of. Although your chosen examples do convey a message, they don't capture the emotions behind them. Poems tend to attempt to explain (to an extent). Some people think they a poem can consist of a few words (those kind of poems drive me absolutely nuts!). I also like poems that are open to many kinds of interpretation. However, I wouldn't get much out of a poem if it only included such vague expressions.


On a less picky note might I advocate that the best poems are not written from the heart - though this is probably true - but rather speak to our hearts. The poems I like the most are those that instantly make me feel like they've expressed something profound about my thoughts or feelings - even if I didn't write them. And the medium makes it feel succinct and well expressed - as if it were capturing the essence of that thought or feeling - unlike my writing style which, as you can tell, tends towards the long winded philosophical ramble!

Just out of curiosity once again, do you believe that a poem written from the heart is the only kind that can connect/speak to other hearts? That's the way I look at it. A poem that can grab my heart is one that will grab and keep my attention.

Wow....who knew I could start such a intellectual debate!

[africandan]

Although your chosen examples do convey a message, they don't capture the emotions behind them.

If "I love you" doesn't capture an emotion....!!

Just out of curiosity once again, do you believe that a poem written from the heart is the only kind that can connect/speak to other hearts?

Interesting what you say about interpretation because I can't say that what speaks to my heart from one poem is what the poet had intended to communicate - even if they were writing from their heart (if that makes sense).

What I'm trying to say is that what appeals to me in a poem may not be what the poet was getting at. I could get something from poems not written from the heart, I could get something from a heartfelt poem that wasn't what was originally felt or the poet and I could be on the same wavelength and it could be more direct.

[Blood Princess]

The beauty of most poems is that you can interpret them however you want in a way that speaks most effectively to you. As for capturing emotion, the whole "I love you" scenario.....I meant to include that I would like to know WHY this love is felt...not just be told that it IS felt.

[africandan]

Poetry is the ability to capture thoughts, images, and emotions on a page.
Ah, but your original definition didn't claim you wanted an explanation as well! You're very demanding!

Besides, now we're getting into further complications. What counts as sufficient explanation? Why, for that matter, do we have to explain emotions? What if, for whatever reason, it's not possible to explain your emotions in such a manner? It's all getting very vague.

I'm sticking by my definitions... poetry rhymes... prose doesn't. No confusion.

[Blood Princess]

Lol, such a simple definition for such a (usually) complex art! Ok, here's my final attempt at unraveling my train of thought. In general, I don't like being confused about what a poem is trying to say. I like to be given some direction, not be dropped into a no man's land of words that mean nothing to me except confusion. Prose is often described as "wordy" while poetry can often be "choppy." However you define it, the definition of what poetry is is as unique as all the poems ever written.

[africandan]

Au contraire!! I'm going to have to comment again!

Of course a definition is unique - it has to be 'by definition'. If a definition is not unique then all language becomes useless because every word can have a meaning given it by the person who uses it. We'd lose the ability to communicate altogether!

Hence why there must be a definition of poetry that enables it to be differentiated from normal prose.

I'd agree with you with the preference for straightforward poetry though. I quite like the poems with clever hidden meanings which are open to interpretation (that you mentioned earlier) but what I like about them is the one definite thing that I see in them!

[Blood Princess]

Just to be difficult: www.dictionary.com

Poem:
1. A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.
2. A composition in verse rather than in prose.
3. A literary composition written with an intensity or beauty of language more characteristic of poetry than of prose.
4. A creation, object, or experience having beauty suggestive of poetry.

Prose:
1. Ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure.
2. Commonplace expression or quality.
3. Roman Catholic Church. A hymn of irregular meter sung before the Gospel.

[wyndhy]

I think the people who visit the site came here originally looking for reading materials.
'tis true! yet the views and comments on any sort of writting are (generally) much less than they are with pictures. like blood princess, and lots of others who have brought it up before, i too wonder why that is.

[wyndhy]

i just wanted to add: in the purest sense of the word, poetry need only be metered, not rhyming.

[Lilith]

'tis true! yet the views and comments on any sort of writting are (generally) much less than they are with pictures. like blood princess, and lots of others who have brought it up before, i too wonder why that is.

An interesting thing about that is that the post views from the pictures are all members where as the story view counts include non members who click the thread/story as well.

[wyndhy]

so it's not really sex that sells, it more like hoo-hoo's and thingies. :D

[dicksbro]

You're writing is very good, Blood Princess. I posted in response to one of your poems that, to be honest, back when responding to stories and poems had to be done in a separate thread, I got out of the habit of both reading and writing.

This thread encouraged me to go back and look again and maybe now that we can respond in the same thread, maybe I'll get back to reading more.

It's true it's not much fun writing if no one is reading ... or responding to your works. For me, I hope you keep up the great work.

[Blood Princess]

Thank you for all the encouragement. Knowing that people enjoy what I write makes it all the more enjoyable to write them. No doubt I'll have more to come in the future.

[wyndhy]

i just remembered a quote aboute poems that i learned in a high school writing class...poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits

dammit, i can't remember who said it, but i think it defines peotry perfectly.