Poetry (A reblog and a teaser)

I've been thinking a lot about next Friday's launch of my second collection of poems, and the reasons why I write poetry. I have repeatedly said that I am under no allusions as to my technical skill (any training I have recieved has been perfunctory and I've largey forgotten most of it) or profundity. Most of the poetry I write (with the exception of the "place poems" that I have written for events like the Wonderful Wander) and primarily personal, allowing me to get disordered thoughts out of an unfocused brain. I have never expected my poems or this blog to draw large numbers of "followers" ( the very idea makes me shudder), though I am pleased, and sometimes astounded when something I write seems to ring a bell with people... so the idea of having one printed collection of poetry never mind two is frankly mindblowing.

What follows is the piece which acts as the "opener" in my 2nd colection, and expresses not only the form and function of my poetry, but also the fact thay so much of it its "inspired" by other people's writing and the hope that it might encoruage others to write too

Poetry

A pause in words

A portal to another

Perspective

A break

From the relentless

Paragraphs of prose

Space on the page

The remaining words

Distilling the internal

Intangible, personal

Into something

Visible yet vulnerable

A tentative exposure

Of ideas and emotions

Cloaked in metaphor

Carefully crafted

Or flowing freely

Rhyming and rhythmic

Intricately versified

and punctuated

Or deliberately not

For public consumption

Or private reflection

Inspired?

Inspiring?

Its over to you

Selah

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