Poem 3,485 and counting

 

Poem 3,485 and counting

 

 

I wish I could say this was my first poem

then I would have an excuse

for not making sense

not making rhyme

not presenting perfect

Iambic pentameter

I am sorry

but I free verse

because I cannot afford anything else

I had to borrow these keys

cause I have no set of my own

 

I free verse

because that was all I could get on my looks

which is a perfect clue

as to why my words are all disfigured

and the poem, a misshapen head

told to go to the back of the class

 

if I were a street urchin

then I would have an excuse

this is poem 3,485 and counting

 

I swear, the next one will be savable

my soul surely is not,

I sold that to one of the Beat poets

years ago, when I was a child

trying to write grownup poems

 

now I am a grownup

who never learned from his mistakes

will never conform to form

 

if you can spare a dime

I might throw in a rhyme

thank you for your time.

 

erin-cilberto

3/13/22

Reviews

[JE Falcon]

A stitch in time saves --- a big headache at the end of the quilt one is making. But if it is a patchwork, hell, just stitch something over the top of it, the overall look is the same, disorganized comfort to the weary soul. And like quilts, if all of the poems were made the same, with all the perfections, or the same flaws, then we'd have a yard sale to get rid of the copies. Different is good, we don't need those, "little houses on the hillside --- little houses, little houses, and they all look the same." 'cause "there are red ones and yellow one and blue ones made of Ticky-tacky. ... Keep on truck-in!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

That's an idea...a yard sale to sell my poems...
My mom made beautiful quilts, she wasn't much into poetry though.
j.

[JE Falcon]

My wife used to make quilts. Every grandchild and all our children have their own. And I'm not counting cousins and the new baby next door. I'll bet your mother's quilts are doing the same. Quilts never go out of fashion. My wife's quilts are still being used and loved. --- As far as the yard sale for old poems go, they only go for "A Bussel and a Peck, and a hug around the neck. I was depressed that yard sale day, so I sold five to see if it cheered me up any. The hugs did but now I got all this hay to deal with. :)

[andrew mitchell]

The best part of free verse, it hides imperfections like if I did a sonnet I'm exposing my flaws not being good at sonnets. Besides if its not broken why change the formula.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

good point...thank you, andrew...
j.

[M. J. Smith]

Shoot! Heart don't care about form! Sing it out, Brother! And hang the couplets!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

where should I hang them? :)))
thanks, M.J.
j.

[M. J. Smith]

The nearest hanging tree will do nicely! 😉

You are most welcome, my friend.

[Aluppi Jampur]

I prefer free verse. But sometimes I just don't understand what they're saying
Even my own poems.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I don't get my own either...I am just a conduit, so the words come and I type them or write them...and fear I have no idea what I am doing.
Thank you, Chrome,
j.

[Aluppi Jampur]

Yes. :)
It's very much like that. And yet even if you don't understand there's a respect for the words. As if they hold a mystery.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

There's certainly nothing wrong with free verse or prose or a block write for that matter. Nothing wrong with rhyme either. Nothing wrong with form or the learning of it. I think there's something wrong with criticizing a style that's not yours or trying to pigeonhole everyone and everything into neat little one size fits all packages though. We all know one size does not fit all. It never has and never will. I know you're familiar with Dickinson's explanation of what poetry is or how she says she knows it. I find poetry in books that have nothing to do with the subject of poetry. This Side of Brightness by Colum McCann has some wonderful poetry in it; no verses, no rhymes but as one reviewer so aptly put it, "Language so wonderful it makes you want to claw yourself with pleasure." That's the stuff I like to read. The naturalists seem to have a grasp on it like Thoreau, Emerson and more recently, Loren Eiseley and E.O. Wilson. I read them and just envy that connection with nature. All that said, you have nothing to be sorry for. You are a master of metaphor and a great writer. I enjoy everything of yours I read. I don't know how many poems I've written. I've probably thrown away hundreds at least. But I can only keep doing what I do because it's as much a part of me as an arm or a leg, except bigger. It actually defines who I am; what I am. I'm a poet. You're a poet. So keep writing them and I'll keep reading them. Cheers, my friend! F.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate what you have said here...I feel whatever niche is good for a poet, that is what the poet writes...I have often been criticized for not writing sonnets, not using more rhyme schemes, not experimenting...but the truth is I tried most forms that exist and found I am only comfortable writing what comes out and how it comes out.
thank you, Fabian...and keep writing your wonderfully descriptive poems.
j.