Why I like a poem
Or can we please just chill with teaching all that uppity nonsense?
As my kids have gone through school, they have occasionally encountered poetry. It would be a single week in which a middle school teacher read from Shel Silverstein or at the end of their year in school about the places they may go. When I asked them or their friends about it, I would get the same response from all. They talk about rhyme schemes or finding the underlying meaning of a poem like they’ve decoded a riddle. I would then ask them if they liked the poems and they would answer with a shrug and continue on their way.
As I have thought about this over the years, I have concluded that poetry is being taught in a way that would make anyone not care about it. They are being taught how the sun works without ever stopping to appreciate the beauty of a sun rise or set. But how did this skip me? How did I end up liking poetry and not just thinking of it as another boring topic in an English class.
I attribute my love of poetry to one main factor. While growing up, if I showed an interest towards something, I was encouraged to explore it more. If I liked a Shel Silverstein book, I was offered more to read by him and others like him. I was told that I could write silly verse, too, and that it didn’t have to be good. If I like writing it, then I should do so for fun. I learned about found poetry and simple rhymes. I was never introduced to difficult poetry. That I found on my own later in life.
Poetry, like any form of literature, can be over analyzed. We can dig deep into the meanings of words. We can try to understand the culture the poem was written within and how it was a response to societal norms, biases, or taboos. But how does that help? Does it make anyone want to read more poetry when we try to explain it or does it put them off? Does it inspire someone to write a poem when they only see pretentious arguments about the merits of a poem? I think we need to counter this teaching of reading and writing poetry. This could be the first step to garner more appreciation of the craft and to improve our own writing as poets.
An exercise that I like to do to get myself in a good headspace about poetry is to pick any poem that I enjoyed and ask myself a few questions about it. One poem I found this year was Black Box by Owen McLeod. Upon first read, there was just something about it. So I read it again. And again. And after about a half dozen readings in a row, I stopped and asked myself why did I take to this particular poem. To me, this is the first step in figuring out the kind of poetry I want to read and write.
Black Box by Owen McLeod
At 83, the end isn't
close enough to touch
but close enough to see -
like his mailbox out front,
black as a hearse,
waiting at the curb
with its red flag up.
One thing I noticed immediately was its brevity. I tend to like poems that are able to get their message out on a single page. I will read longer ones, but they never hold any power over my memories. With that, I am drawn to its shortness and its simplicity. No big, complicated words. It seems like it has been reduced to the smallest parts necessary to say something.
Another thing about this poem is that though I’m not old and don’t have any health issues, yet I inherently think that I understand what it’s saying. It’s making a statement about something bigger than itself, but not making a fuss about it.
There is plenty to pull apart about this poem as well. We can get into the details of how the mailbox-hearse is waiting even as it feels like he cannot walk out to it anymore. The red flag that is up can be read as one foot of the character is already in the grave. But these deeper meanings aren’t what struck me at first. They just show the depth of the analogy, the skill of the poet, and that the poem may be better than the impression upon first reading.
So to start our journey into remembering or figuring out why we read or write poetry, pick a poem that just strikes you. Is there a poem that you keep enjoying read after read and continues to give you more and different feelings over time? Or a poem that no matter how many times you read it, you just like and may not even know why you like it so much? Can you reflect on it and see if maybe it’s just a choice of words or turn of phrase that you like? Maybe it’s the sounds it makes when reading it aloud (or in your head). It could be a serious or casual tone that gives you the right vibes. Whatever the reasons may be, try writing down what it is that you think makes it check your boxes.
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