The Refresh Orlando Heirs

How to Write Bad Poetry

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:59:02 +0000

“All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling.”–Oscar Wilde

People write poetry for a plethora of reasons, but this article has a sharpened arrowhead aimed directly at the fingertips of amateur poets who wish to be published yet refuse to learn the attributes of a well-crafted poem. These poets are the ones who plop their pieces, shining with every beam of ambiguity, vagueness and hackney, into cyberspace for review. I have encountered a few of these poets to whom I have given a courteous critique, only to be backhanded in the face by sore comments such as, “You must be too dense to get it,” or “Everyone I know tells me how great I am. You’re the only one…”

Of course I am usually left wondering why someone would care to post a poem in a critique forum if any constructive comment given to the poet gets immediately flushed down the cyber-potty. Many new poets seem to think that writing a poem is one hundred percent emotion. They overlook the notion that, as with any craft, poetry entails a good deal of practice and learning as well as desire and talent. So instead of writing about the importance of concrete imagery, figurative language, and the art of minimizing abstractions, I thought it might be fun, (and might even tick a few people off) to write a small compendium of attributes of bad poetry.

Recipe for a Really Bad Poem

- A bad poem should not have any original language. If you aim to write a bad poem, avoid coming up with stark images. The last thing you would want to do is write something fresh, innovative, and evocative. Use as many hackneyed expressions as possible, such as “crystal clear,” “dark as ebony,” “blue as the sky,” “dark as night,” “…paints a picture,” “climb the highest mountain,” Etc.

- An especially bad poem should be heavily weighted with abstract words such as “heart,” “love” “sadness,” “despair,” “hate,” and “destiny.” The more abstract and generalized your poem, the better suited it will be to mean absolutely nothing to the reader. Aim for zero concrete images if you want a particularly bad poem. For example, “The world is a sorrowful place/ filled with sadness and hate…blah blah blah.” Also, be sure to TELL the poet how to describe something by using superfluous abstract adjectives! “The water is pretty;” “The world is ugly;” “His eyes were beautiful…” A bad poem should never use figurative language or descriptive imagery to SHOW the reader a slice of life.

- No matter how odd the sentence becomes, or how unlikely the phrase would be concocted in normal language, make it RHYME. Rhyme anyway!! That’s right, a bad poem is going to have very forced rhyme. If you have to rearrange the structure of a sentence just to make the rhyme fit, go for it! For example: “The apple blossoms fell in May/ on the grassy field is where they lay.” (Notice how I just couldn’t say, “They lay on the grassy field?” That wouldn’t rhyme, so I had to make up a funky sentence.

- Don’t worry about punctuation, grammar, or spelling. What you really want to do is to make the reader scratch her head and read it a zillion times trying to figure out what it means. Bad spelling and poor grammar will really detract from the meaning, so get reckless with your words. Try this poem out for size:

i watch as the sun/
sets over the horisen/
the ocean pants/
like a wild monster/
breaths with heavy/
breath and then falls/
something small/
always gets lost/
in the mouth/
of agony

——-or——-

u r reel speciol/
like honi sweet/
from a candy bee.

- A good practice for a cleverly bad poet is to make the objects of the poem plural! Globalize your subject for an incredibly weak impact! “Trees are…” “People cry…” “Flowers bloom…” By pluralizing all the objects of the poem, you are blurring the imagery, thus making it sappy, intangible, and simply boring.

———————-

Frequently Asked Questions of bad poets who want to be published but don’t want to work:

—————–

Q. Who are you to judge what a good poem is? A poem is like beauty; it is in the eye of the beholder!

A. Paul Valery once said, “a poem is never finished, only abandoned.” You have to work on your poem. You have to find a certain clarity that will reach the reader. Sometimes we get so fogged up with our own emotions, we don’t really see the true poem. Emotional outpours make excellent first drafts, but if you don’t go any further then that, you aren’t working hard enough to make your poem goodeven in your own eyes. Also, as far a judging a poem is concerned, as long as you hope to publish your poetry, it will get judged. Know what these “judgers” are looking for.

Q. If clichés were so bad, why have they been around for so long?

A. Exactly!! Everyone understands clichésalmost to the point where they don’t even mean anything anymore. Poetry is an art of expression and exposition. If you are too lazy to come up with the images yourself, then you aren’t really writing poetry.

Q. I write poetry for personal reasons. It is my way of dealing with the world. Why should I care what you think about poetry?

A. You shouldn’t. Unless you are trying to perfect your craft so that you can express yourself through literature in some publication, you can write any way you want. Just know, though, that if you post your poem for critique, you might get some honest criticism based on poetic technique. If that is not what you are looking to get, please let people know what you are looking to get.

Devrie Paradowski is a freelance writer and poet. Her poetry has been published by several literary journals and she has written dozens of articles for various publications including “Poetry Renewal Magazine,” and “Poetryscams.com.” She is the author of the chapbook, “Something In the Dirt,” which can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/108560 . In 2001, Devrie founded a popular online literary community ( http://www.LiteraryEscape.com ) that has become highly respected for some of the most honest and in-depth poetic critique on the Internet. In keeping with her commitment to inspire amateur writers to hone their skills, she also founded a local writer’s group called, “The Fire and Ice Writer’s Group.”

Live For Today…

admin — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:13:30 +0000

Isn’t that what they say?
But what does that mean?
There’s no definition that may
answer that question…

For everyone everywhere
Because it’s all about what you
feel in your heart and share
with the important people in your life…

I honestly believe it means
you should make choices
that will never let you seem
to wonder “What if…?”

Or ask yourself questions like
“Why am I not happy?”
“Where did I wrong?”
How can my life be…

So unfulfilling
and depressing
day after day
continually stressing…

Me out to the point
of no return or worse
when I think there’s
simply a real curse…

On my existence
as silly as it sounds…
If you can’t shake it
The feelings will compound…

And lead you to a tragic
internal, premature death
of emotions and real living
that will always be less…

Satisfying and true
than living for today
in a way that may
make you feel all new…

Each and every morning
despite the world around you
your life will not be dreary…
And you will never have to -

Wonder what could have been
if only you’d taken a chance
and lived in the moment
and treasured the dance…

Of your life that’s not eternal
embracing the small things
that may come unexpectedly
and give you unknown wings…

To soar above
the mundane and boring
To choose the path
that’s worth exploring…

Remember you only
walk this world one time
make it a valuable trip
filled with the sublime…

You’ll probably regret what you
choose not to do a lot more
than what you decide to try
so do not close the door…

On the unknown
Go the extra mile
Take some risks
and you will smile…

When you look back
on the life you made
You will not lack
in delight or…

Have to ask yourself
Why? Why? Why?
Did I allow the years
to fly quickly by…

Without enjoying my days
to the fullest extent
and making each moment
more than well-spent?

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

Poems of Nature

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:43:32 +0000

Nature
The sky is gray
On this late summer day
As the sun imbues
Its various hues
Upon the scene.
A sight to be seen,
A beauty to behold,
A thousand campfire stories to be told.

With the settling twilight
And the settling night
Comes the settling fog
About every log,
Every limb
As the light continues to dim.

Yet, do you hear it?
Yes, a kindred spirit,
As it beckons
To us, Nature’s patrons,
Who think deep thoughts of
All things up above
And things all around
And adventures upon which to bound.
Well then,
Let’s begin,
Before this great night can end!

Nature II
As I continue to tread
The well-worn path between the trees,
Many thoughts swim in my head
Of the refreshing beauties
Of the crisp, clean air
Playing in my hair,
The rainbow
That has begun to show
Over the tips of the trees,
The birds’ outspoken symphonies,
And the sun-rays that warm my face
As I pass each open, sun-lit space.

Nature has its own music,
Its own specially tuned melody.
I never want to lose it,
For what it means to me,
I can never fully express,
Even as my feelings well up in my chest.
It is here in the forest,
This place of nature and spirit,
That I feel blessed,
And ignore the old habit
Of humankind
To mind
Its own business
And forget about the wilderness.

Come friend,
Let’s walk this path again,
Before this great day can end!

Nature III
In that sky so immense,
I see clouds something dense,
Holding tight and tense,
Ready to drop their contents,
In order to rinse
And cleanse
All this poetic nonsense.
Yes, I’m guilty of many sins.

On this grayest of days,
While watching the lightning blaze,
I’m pondering my all too human ways,
Hoping to soon see hopeful sun rays,
To brighten my own soul’s shadowy grays.

I now realize,
That until our demise,
That which is good and right
In God’s sight
Our nature often defies
And denies.

Nonetheless,
Let me not digress,
For I hope and work for the best,
And I must never rest,
For God promises
Salvation and nothing less
To those who would in Him believe
And their own sinner state quickly leave.
Now, as we find God’s love strong and true,
We can begin our adventures anew,
And enjoy nature once again,
Before this great day can end!

Nature IV
As I walk down the glistening beach,
I watch the waves break on the shore.
All nature’s joy seems within reach,
And I enjoy it all the more.

Many are the sights that I behold:
Lots of people fishing on the pier,
Lovers whose whispers will go untold,
And young swimmers who have no fear!

Yet, even as I watch the birds,
And they dive in to look for fish,
I realize that even these words
Can’t properly describe all this!

Nonetheless, the great tide of life
Still continues to ebb and flow.
Live by faith, for all of our strife
Will be solved by God, not what we know.

Now then, let’s begin this journey again!
Let us walk down the beach hand in hand,
Until the afternoon tide comes in,
And it overtakes us walking in the sand!

Owen Johnston lives and teaches Wado ryu Karate in Lake City, South Carolina. He enjoys reading, writing, training, and spending time with his fiance. The above poetry was excerpted from the author’s book titled “Heaven on Earth”, a sample of which is available at Johnston Wado ryu Karate - Online Community.

Hindu Poet - Kamalakanta

admin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:13:54 +0000

Kamalakanta was born in Burdwan India in the late 18th Century. From an early age he expressed an interest in spirituality and later in life Kamalakanta received initiation into Tantric Yoga from a Tantric yogi named Kenaram Bhattacharya. His songs made him famous during his lifetime and because of his fame as a singer poet the Maharaja of Burdwan, Tej Chandra asked Kamalakanta to be his Guru. Kamalakanta became a great devotee of Kali and composed many impassioned and devotional love poems to the Mother.

It is said that the Divine Mother in her aspect of Mahakali wishes her sincere devotees to make the fastest progress. Kali is often depicted as the great destroyer of ignorance and hostile forces. The poetry of Kamalakanta displays this heroic attitude of imploring Kali to destroy limitations and bondage. The poetry of Kamalakanta also displays a profound faith in his all powerful Kali.

“The earth quakes under Your leaps and bounds.
You are frightful with that sword in Your hand .”

Whilst Kali is often depicted as a black and terrifying form, this however is just one aspect of hers as a destroyer of ignorance. Kamalakanta also alludes to the other aspect of Kali as he states in his poem - “Is my Mother Really Black?”

“If She’s black,
how can She light up the world?
Sometimes my Mother is white,
sometimes yellow, blue, and red.
I cannot fathom Her.
My whole life has passed
trying. “

The poems of Kamalakanta and Ramprasad were later sung by Sri Ramakrishna, who himself was a great devotee of the Divine Mother.These devotional songs would often send Sri Ramakrishna into an ecstatic state as he became absorbed in contemplation of the Divine Mother. Many of these songs are recorded in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.

Richard Pettinger
http://www.poetseers.org/

Beautiful City

admin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:43:18 +0000

Tennyson wrote this centuries or so ago, and I ran across it during the Moslem riots in France. We’ve been at war, Christians, Jews and Moslems, for a very long time. It seemed timeless, so I decided to try to make an updated version of my own with the same original spirit that Sir Alfred managed to put into it…somehow.

Beautiful City

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Beautiful city, the centre and crater of European confusion,

O you with your passionate shriek for the rights of an equal humanity,

How often your Re-volution has proven but E-volution

Roll’d again back on itself in the tides of a civic insanity!

And now, my version:

Beautiful Ciudad

by Karen Cole-Peralta

Wondrous City of Lights, Parisian originalle,

Bent to the War, Moslem Jew & Christian banal.

Torture and hedonism lend to your spired Tour d’Eiffel,

The results of all tolling church bells medieval.

Which cannot erase any the things ha’ been done;

In the name of God as side, side as God;

Nothing new is under the blood-swollen sun.

This seemed timely due to the recent huge riots in Paris. Looked like all them French Moslems decided to get uppity. Strangely enough, it was written quite a little while ago, altogether. The reason I used the Spanish word for city, “ciudad,” instead of the French word for city, is due to the act of terrorism awhile back where an entire train was blown up somewhere along the tracks to Valencia, Spain. I believe myself that we are now altogether in the wasted throes of World War III.

Welcome to the Wild Wild Web. And World.

RAINBOW WRITING, INC. — featuring Karen Peralta, copy editor, ghost writer and book author — EXPERT FREE DOWNLOAD COMPUTER FIXER PROGRAM! We also offer inexpensive professional freelance and contracted writing, editing, copy editing and writing, rewriting, ghost writing, graphics design and CAD, Internet marketing, publishing assistance, search engine optimization, professional free services and supercheap dedicated web hosting and website development services. http://www.rainbowriting.com/