I've noticed certain reoccurring themes in my poetry: the sea, flowers, sex. I know each poet has their own style, but I thought it would be a fun exercise to write a poem that has nothing to do with those themes.

What are your reoccurring images? Would you like to share a poem that doesn’t contain them?

I'd want someone else to tell me what my recurring themes are, just to be sure I hadn't missed any.

solitude.
blue collar imagery (whatever the hell that means)


other than that, I'll echo Tony's statement- I'd want others to point out my imagery.

I found myself always talkin
bout depression
poverty homelessness
violence and death
I would enjoy to
write a poem that
has nothing to do
with these topics
I think
that would be fun

It's the old Hemingway thing...

Everything in Hemingway's works generally revolved around sex / fishing / sex / bullfights / alcohol / sex / male inadequacy / fishing / death / war / sex / and more fishing. That plus every protagonist was generally him in his works.

It really goes for all of us to some degree or another. We write what we know. That's why alot of my poems revolve around being in a bar or some capacity including a bar. It's what I know very well. Same goes for beer, it's something I know.

I think we all fall back on the things that we know within us, what we have witnessed, what we have experienced, what has made us who we are as people. And there's not a dagnab thing wrong with that, it is really what makes our writing unique since we all come from different experiences and facets of life.

-- j.

I've tended to write very emotional poems, maybe because that's when I feel most inspired.

The main reason that I've been on a streak of writing sexually-themed poems is because that's what people respond to. I've written excellent poems in the general section that get only 40 hits, and I've written average sexual poems that get 300+ hits.

And here's the issue: the reason why people always write about nature and sex is because those are the two issues that define humanity succinctly. We can do nothing apart from the nature, and every action is sexual in some way, so to depart from that would be to reach outside ourselves, which isn't too bad either.

So true....I agree 100%, Sapphic.

very well

sapphicmuse wrote:

The main reason that I've been on a streak of writing sexually-themed poems is because that's what people respond to. I've written excellent poems in the general section that get only 40 hits, and I've written average sexual poems that get 300+ hits. And here's the issue: the reason why people always write about nature and sex is because those are the two issues that define humanity succinctly. We can do nothing apart from the nature, and every action is sexual in some way, so to depart from that would be to reach outside ourselves, which isn't too bad either.

I agree, but aren't we neglecting also our dark nature as well. I believe we have one, don't we?

I think the reason we recure to this themes is because they take us from other painful issues. And I understand. I have experienced how bad can be to write about issues people don't want to talk or read about.

I find that like my paintings. I am always writing in archaic linework as seen in the Pacific Coast tribes trying to take the reader other places. It's hard for me to see anything recurring except maybe form, but then I will take the theme of the poem and run it through another form and it changes. I would love to see if anyone at this site or anywhere can nail that for me. I write everything from extinct animals that are urban legends ( the thylacine ) to political that firebombs all parties, to whimiscal and serious offerings off of the Nine Rasa of Hindi/Sandskrit literature, and various song genre lyrics from Bluegrass to Reggae. It is good to see if you have recurring themes, if you are successful good but do not rest on that. The world is plagued by too many R.C. Gorman's and Kenny G.'s. Be original, do not write " interesting " poems, write poems that generate interest. As for hits, I get plenty but I have yet to figure out why no is responding. Are they scared of me ?

Sadness, want, loneliness...to write is to purge.

I do have recurring themes, S. It bothers me that they occur so often and so insistently:

Songs/Singing/languages/door(way)s
Gravity/Heaviness/Space/singularities/dark
Flowers/blossoms/blooms/galaxies
Stars/Suns/Moons/orbits/unities
Uncertainties/Possiblies/Perhapses/Inevitabilities/estrangements
Teacups/Circles/Seasons/trees/lakes
images and their inverses/negatives/the number zero & Nothing.

I must wonder, am I constantly only retreading what I've already said? Am I saying it from another angle I haven't explored? Or has the true poem just not yet emerged? Are these scribblings just broken messages pushing the way toward something else? That is a very interesting question you pose.

i certainly have reoccuring themes to my poems: the sea, flowers, sex...sound familiar?? but i try to approach these topics from a different angle each time i write, or at least incorporate them into a different form or style of poetry. i see nothing wrong with reoccuring themes. after all, we write what we know, do we not?? it is absurd to think that you can write eloquently and responsibly about something of which you do not know. the older i get, the more i experience. the more i experience, the more i write, and the writes are varied. celebrate that which you know, educate yourself of that which you do not know...then you will have more to write about...

i think...jeez, now i have a headache and writer's block...

Hi electrictiger and wordsmithwannabe,

I do think that a reoccurring theme can be an amalgamate of inspiration and hindrance.

My themes are a reaction to life experiences and the world in general. My themes help me express empathy for life experiences I've never had. Have I ever lost a lover to war? No. Am I an earthquake survivor? No. I think we can write about what we don't know based off what we know. But I agree with wordsmithwannabe- that if a poet overextends the limits of their personal experience, the poem is a farce, an insult.

However, electrictiger I have also used my themes as a crutch, an easy way out of a difficult poem. I have been lazy in the past and the result is a soft, underdeveloped piece that lacks the desired tension and beauty.


That being said, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to choose another poet's reoccurring themes and write a poem based on them. We could even try mirroring that poet's voice.

This may be a good way to reinvent our poetry or at least offer another perspective on our themes.

What do you think?

i completely agree with your statement that a reoccuring theme can be an amalgamate of inspiration and hindrance. its a delicate balance that every writer must take into consideration.

and i also see your point about themes being a crutch, again it is something that every writer must deal with.

i love your idea of mirroring a poet's voice, i think that's a healthy way to grow, as long as the mirror contains YOUR reflection...

I agree with you, S. I think it would be a delightful way to get a different perspective on one's own poetic voice, as well as an invitation to more closely study the body of another (hopefully greater) poet's work, and hence develop poetic knowledge generally. Only very recently have I moved beyond reading and writing poetry for pleasure alone, to the more rewarding (but taxing) task of trying to gain a deeper understanding of the craft. Among other things, I've developed a much deeper respect for the art; as well, I've learned things about myself and my own voice (including: I know less about myself, or how my own mind works than I ever could have imagined.). Currently, I'm obsessed with Margaret Atwood, Coleridge and Dante.

i think i have several recurring themes...not sure how i'd categorize them, though...i've found that i tend to write the same idea with different words in different forms...which is why prompts are so helpful. looking at old photos, listening to a new song, watching strange documentaries...

Oooo which documentaries??? me curious...

wordsmithwannabe wrote:

Oooo which documentaries??? me curious...

i like shows like "taboo" and "bizarre world"...and for some strange reason, i really enjoy the nova specials on coral reefs.

i love those! all of them, i'm a history channel geek, although i find a lot of the docus very biased sometiimes, especially the WWI and II pieces...they don't tell the whole story and shamelessly glorify the American war effort, its very misleading

wordsmithwannabe wrote:

i love those! all of them, i'm a history channel geek, although i find a lot of the docus very biased sometiimes, especially the WWI and II pieces...they don't tell the whole story and shamelessly glorify the American war effort, its very misleading

agreed. I do like the bios...especially from the 1700's...strange people.

yes, very strange. i love ones on the ancient world and also the show Mythbusters