Poetry PSA

Hello readers, today is an important PSA (that's public service announcement for those who don't know. Also, DOA, like in the Friend's theme song "your love life's DOA" means Dead On Arrival. Fun fact). The announcement of today is a two part-er, and deserves some context.

I really like to write poetry. I like to write sonnets, although those can be time consuming, what with all the counting and the rhyming. I think it can be really useful to make yourself be creative within bounds of strict limits, as a sonnet does for me. But, when I have a few sparks of inspiration and no time for meter, or if I am feeling a little funky, I'll play around with other styles for the same reason; strict limits can allow for greater freedoms creatively. A recent favorite of mine is what this PSA is all about.

Public Service Announcement: Everyone has the capability to write creatively. Everyone should take the time to write creatively.

Yeah, that's really it. I think that it's useful for us to explore elements of our lives in ways that are not extremely analytical; you may really enjoy pro-con lists, for example, but picking up a pen and writing out how you feel might be a more useful way of making a decision. People say that journaling everyday can be great for the mind and the mood, and I know for a fact most who hear this kind of chuckle or brush off such a thing because they don't have the time for it. You could get (this is me imagining, by the way, I have done no studies) the same effect by writing a quick reflective piece of poetry or prose.

And my most recent favorite form is a pretty easy one to pick up. They're called Definition Poems, where you start with a word. Noun, adjective, verb, doesn't really matter (I tend to work a lot with adjectives, but that's just me). Then, look up the definition of that word, that's line 1. Continue to make your own definitions for 2-where ever you feel like the end is. If, when you look up the word, there are more than one definition, throw the others in where you think they would feel the best. Those definitions you create can be descriptions of places, or feelings. They can recall memories that you find whenever you think of the particular word you are defining, or in their compilation they may tell a story.

Although I am not an English teacher, nor do I play one on TV, I think this type of poetry is really great for first dipping your feet into the pond of creative writing. It has the elements of prose in it where the writer need not worry about meter or rhythm (although they may if they chose), while also creating a feeling of poetry in the shortness and clipped feeling definitions can provide.

An example, of my own:

Overthink, verb

1. To think about (something) too much or for too long
2. To attempt to swallow bitter acid memories piled in the back of your throat
3. To get dizzy while flicking through channels of sickly sweet “what if"s
4. To run fingertips over the facts that you know like the bumpy scars over skin until they become mountains of possibilities, terrible and thrilling.

See how easy? This one is short, but it was useful in telling how I was feeling the night it was written. It took very little time (at least the first draft did, it has been edited since because this is what I do), and once it was jotted down I not only felt a sense of accomplishment, but also a little bit of relief that I could express the feeling, and a little more creative than I did when I started.

Go forth! Write a poem! You'll love it.