poetry

It has been more than three years that I have been writing regularly on this site. I have written articles, poetry and lately short stories. How I write my articles and poetry differs greatly. Let me explain – with articles I normally research about a topic to get some real data and facts before sitting down to pen down my opinion. I normally have a list of topics at hand, which I slowly expand into bullet points and later into a full article. This is a very top to bottom process – something well thought about and planned.

However, how I write poetry is very different from what I described above. If article writing is a top to bottom process, then poetry is a bottom to top process. If article writing is planned, then writing poetry is spontaneous. The articles comes from the head and heart, while the poems originate from the soul. The articles are meant to be read, understood and analyzed, while the poems are just meant to be felt.

I don’t plan and write poetry. I don’t have a list of topics on which I have to write a poem. Instead, poetry writing feels like someone else is writing through me. It seems like I am just the medium and the words just come out automatically when I am in the ‘zone‘. After finishing a poem, sometimes I myself can’t believe I have written it. It is like I am a mirror reflecting the emotions in words which I absorb from the world as it is.

When I write a poem, I feel a unique connection to the world. It is like I am painting a picture, but with words instead. It takes me into a new trance of consciousness where the possibilities are endless, and life is full of joy – even if the poem is about sad and tragic state of affairs. I feel poetry puts us all in touch with the most innocent child in us, and we are always going to need it.

I have not learned or studied about poetry ever. Poetry for me is a way of expressing my mood and emotions at that point. Depending on whether I am sad, romantic or nostalgic, my poems come out as reflecting the same. Even the subjects of the poem vary. I have written poems about corruption, politics, love, society, my mother, best friends, life depending upon the prevalent topic in my life at that time.

So my poetry takes its own path, independent of what I want to write. And I want to let it be that way. With poetry, I am willing to go where the flow takes me, without offering much resistance of my own. I am going to accept and write poetry about whatever life throws at me, rather than choosing a subject(s) and try to mold my poetry about it. Poetry also helps me to see things which are serious in a lighter vein. Life may be messy, chaotic, painful, sad at times and joyful, lovely, charming and completely perfect at other times. But the world as a whole is beautiful, and there is beauty all around us, if we can look at it that way.