Songs>Poetry

Ah the infamous poetry unit. The only things I remember from poetry units are those quizzes on poetry terms. I still don’t remember how to identify some of them, but I remember what the quizlet flashcard definitions looked like. I also only realized last year that ‘iamb’ was spelled with an i and not spelled ‘lamb’ (like the animal). 

The thought of creating my own poetry is daunting and I find I already have mental blocks because I feel like they need to be rooted in emotionally deep topics. For example, many of them are about death and love, but if I am just going to school and back everyday I don’t experience those on a major level to be writing deep symbolism and metaphors about them. Now, I know I could write a poem about anything, but that pretentious aspect of the poem having to have an intellectual background is a little frightening. 

On the other hand, if someone said to make a song, I could make up random lyrics on the spot because songs don’t have to be serious. This could also be accounted for by the fact that I am always listening to music, but I am almost never reading poetry. I feel that listening to music is a form of escapism for me in that singers are singing about their lives and emotions. Even though I may not have gone through a similar experience, it is still enjoyable to listen to. Whereas for poetry, if I haven’t shared a similar experience, it is difficult to draw out the meaning and begin to analyze it.

I have found that being immersed in an activity helps me get over that aforementioned fear of doing it on my own, so with the exposure from class I am hopeful that I will be less apprehensive toward poetry, or at least find some good sources to read poetry from when I am in a reading slump and need something quick to read.