Response #6

to Philip Larkin’s “Writing Poems”

 

What Does Poetry Do For You?

Do poets write poetry for themselves? Do they write to express their inner most feelings and views on the things that surround them and influence them everyday? Or do they write poetry for others, to appease the senses? Or, is it a little bit of both? These are questions that I have struggled to answer and continue to entertain answers. Larkin states that "to write a poem was to construct a verbal device that would preserve an experience indefinitely by reproducing it in whoever read the poem."

A poet writes about an experience to preserve its memory and capture the moment through the lyrical composition. I think that a good poem takes you to the place, the event, setting, and mind frame of the poet when he wrote it. The poem allows the reader access to the writer’s mind and perhaps to experience what inspired the poet to pen the words.

Reading a poem can be a wonderful journey. It can take you beyond your own comprehension and gives you an opportunity to "see" things through another’s perspective.. Through a poem, you can travel to distance lands, become a hero, or learn to love. Poems can speak words of wisdom and of truth. Reading poetry can journey you to new horizons and broaden our thoughts on life. They can be windows of exploration that each one of us should dare open into. Simply dismissing poetry on the basis of their complexity, can result in unexplored paths of self discovery.

"Henceforth the poems belong to their readers, who will in due course pass judgement by either forgetting or remembering them." It is easy to understand why we will forget some poems which don’t move us; however, I believe it is important to look at the reasons we remember certain poems. Why do some strike our emotions upon reading; the way it speaks to the deepest part of our soul? Perhaps we are moved by specific structures - words, syntax, diction, imagery, irony, paradox, tone, rhythm, or pattern of the poem. The heightened awareness of self-understanding a poem can bring is something to think about. Perhaps the poem is relevant to your current situation you are experiencing in life. There are so many reasons for one poem to be remembered by the reader. What you remember a poem for, may vary and can be different from poem to poem and from person to person.

I think that a poem should draw you in and captivate your interest. Those it speaks to, should remember it. A poem that may speak to me but may not speak to you for we are as different as are poems. A seeker should be able to find satisfaction upon reading. Their emotions stirred, thinking evoked, and horizons broadened - taking one to a different world. A poem should shed light to your heart and soul’s deepest, darkest, and most deserted places.