Thoughts on Poetry

1.  A famous philosopher, Immanuel Kant, as an aside said, "Poetry without rhyme is prose gone mad".  I think poetry without rhyme is cheating, taking the easy way out.  I cheat more than I would like.  Maybe this form of writing should have its own name, something like "Prosery".


2.  The chance of an original thought in writing, one which has not been voiced before, is remote.  About the best we can hope to do is phrase it in a different way.


3.  I believe rhyme in poetry is like sugar in coffee which leaves a sweetness lingering on the tongue.


4.  A poem is the mood and feeling of a moment, not of a life.

5.  Don't fish for a compliment.  Your writings must be found and appreciated, or not, as the reader is inclined.  The other option is that they never be found at all.

6.  Writing allows you to discuss with yourself, uninterrupted, matters which are difficult to discuss with others.

7.  Critics be damned.  If one person finds pleasing one thing I have written, that is enough.

                                                      rlkilgore