Position:Home>Poetry> Should people who write prose try poetry?
Question: Should people who write prose try poetry!?
Life’s Capricious Journeys
By Warren Domke
Looking back at the roads I’ve traveled
I see hundreds of faces
Hundreds more places!.
Twists and turns
Ups, downs!.
Sometimes they were superhighways,
I moved faster
Sometimes they were back roads,
Dotted with fruit and vegetable sellers,
With picnic tables, with parks, with little shops,
With places and people to share times with,
Never to meet again!.
How many times did I choose!?
A turn, an exit,
Which way to go at an intersection!?
How different would life be
Had I made different choices!?
Had there been different people,
Different experiences,
Different children,
Different destinations to my journey!?
We are trapped in our own fates,
You and I!.
We traveled our highways,
We made our stops,
The places and faces were the ones we chose,
Or were chosen for us!.
Different paths, different faces,
Different places!.
How sad we never met ‘til now!.
But I’ve traveled well!.
My children comfort me!.
The places and faces I’ve known
Bring me joy!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
If someone is a "writer", they should try to write in all the styles available to them, including poetry!. Having said that, it does not mean that someone who is good or accomplished at writing prose will ever be a good "poet"!. They should "try" it, but there is a difference between poetry and prose, even between prose poetry and prose!.!.!.though that line is the subject of many an article (written in prose, of course)!.
Why aren't the two interchangable!? The reason is at once simple and complex: the ability to articulate in prose does not mean the author has the ability to make connections that aren't obvious or linear, or the ability to use the range of poetic devices that "define" poetry!. It is true that many poets write very articulate articles on a variety of subjects, but it is also true that some editors and authors of very succesful books seem incapable of writing poetry that is anything more than poetic prose!. It is one thing to say, "the mountains were formed during an age where escarpments were lifted due to the forces of continental drift and platetectonics" and quite another to say, "Those snow-capped giants were lifted on the shoulders of a tortured slice of earth before mankind crawled from the primordial sea"!.!.!.or to say, "the sky was brilliantly illuminated with fuschia, pink and crimson as the sun set behind the desert mountains" and "the sky was ablaze with electric fire that played the final chords of the desert day"!. Personification, metaphor, allusion, and a host of other devices that "might" make their way into the toolbox of a successful author of prose, may also be absent!.!.!.but cannot be so for the poet!.
Your poem is poetic prose; it walks the line between poetry and prose, and it is obvious that you can articulate concepts and situations!.!.!.the question is this: can you condense your poem into 12 lines that create the same image, convey the same thoughts!? Why 12 lines!? because that's a good place to start!. Think beyond words that "tell"!.!.!.think "show"!.!.!.create images or word combinations that are not linear to express what you've expressed well enough in your current poem!. Your message is well put, but I think you could do just as well if you allowed yourself to move more towards images and farther from prose!.
Just some advice to a good writer in the event they'd like to try something that might test their abilities and help expand their way of looking at things!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
This is a beautiful poem!. You were inspired, indeed, my friend!. So uplifting and touching on all of the many things that happen in life!.
Write More and more and more!.!.!.
T!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Two thumbs up, Warren!.
And yes, people who write prose should try poetry and vice versa!. You'll never know whether you can do it or not if you don't try!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
i think people are only ALLOWED to write poetry becuase people will always wonder what peoples lives were like around the time of the millinia!
hope that helpsWww@QuestionHome@Com
Very very nice poem!. Yes, people who write prose should try poetry and vice versa!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I would recommend considering so; the example poem has excellent phrasing!. I have several back-burnered song projects for which I develop the lyrics only after extensive research into the songs' respective subjects; and I don't even bother with rhyme, as for me the phrasing is critical to presentation of the story involved (it's an autie thing--most wouldn't understand)!. Other songwriters have the rhyme down pat, as a point of comparison!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
This is excellent!. Where does prose end and poetry begin!? It must be a fine line between the two!. I consider this to be a poem, it is stuffed with internal rhymes, alliteration and repetition - I am sure you would have written it differently if it had been a prose piece!.
It is Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken for modern day consumption!
I've not seen your work before, I hope to see more (no rhyme intended!)Www@QuestionHome@Com