Poetry Can be a Difficult Read.......for me that is.

I used to write poetry but I have gotten away from it. I love to read Guys poems on gather. He is just wonderful. I dont have any problem with understanding it but I think it is because of studing it for so long. It was a hobby of mine when I was in high school. That has helped me so much. Poetry is one of those writings that you have to ponder on to get the deep meaning. Like the scriptures, you can read it or you can ponder it. The best rewards come from pondering. Poetry is like this for me.

I don't "get" poetry either. I have a friend that writes it & reads it to me, and that's great, but it just doesn't float my boat. I've seen you talk about Gather.com - what is that? (My only experience with anything by that name is that Anne McCaffrey used it to denote a fair and in Highlander - but wasn't ever sure what it was for in that.)

I agree. I like a good poem but if it is too deep it is lost on me. I use to write poems in high school, but lost interest. I do read lots on here, or use to when I saw them, but a lot were just words that rhyme!LOL

Yes I write poetry and have entered many competitions with my poetry, I find it very easy although some people must find it difficult. I love reading it and have done this since I was very young. Poetry is ryhming words together so that people can understand them but I do read a lot that do not make any sense.

Elusive, I find myself with the same problem as you, methinks. I really have a very literal brain. My mind likes to do logical things, like math problems. So while I love poetry and think that it is a beautiful art form, my mind tends to get very confused very quickly when it comes to trying to decipher poetry. Even with song lyrics, sometimes I have to hear them a lot of times before it sinks in what something is about, if it's not worded in a certain way. I swear, I'm not unintelligent, lol! I spent most of my youth reading voraciously.. I know some fair few big words ^_~ I just don't always process things that aren't said in a straightforward, logical way as quickly as I do with logical problems, is all.

oh..I like writing and I write poems..when I am happy or when I am sad..and every time something touches my heart I translate or try to translate the emotions I am feeling into words...these are my poems..the voice of my soul..this happens to me..but poetry is something different for each author...sometimes it is a way to tell the world something that is unfairs..sometimes it is a sort or rebellion and revolution...sometimes it is a masterpiece...this happens when the poet can speak the words each human being can feel as his or her own.. I don't think poetry is difficult...the fact is that poetry needs time and attention and therefore it is not apt for any moment..I think you should start little by little...taste different authors and find the one right for you...it is a sort of education..there is musical education...and there is poetry education!!!

Hi! I have trouble with poetry, too. I've read books about poetry, so I understand the different forms and ways to create poems (which is pretty much only limited by the writer's imagination), but some of them I still don't get. I try to read and appreciate poetry, but I'm just not quite there yet! :-)

I know what you mean Elusive, poetry is not for everybody. Some don't even want to try reading poetry because it's beyond them to understand it..lol As you already know I love to write poetry and it is a natural gift. Poetry is all about a person's perception of reality or it could be mere imagination. Either way feelings or messages are conveyed through poetry. The simplest of poems have hidden meanings in them. One of my favourite poems of all times is Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening" A short and simple poem but very thought provoking. Sometimes I don't understand more elaborate deep poems, because only the poet knows what he wants to convey. The poems I write are simple and emotional:)

I love reading poetry on gather. Who are you in there? I am Shaun72 also in gather. I enjoy gather myself :) Shaunee

You are saying my words Elusive lol. I also like to read poetry to some level, but after that it goes over my head. If I can get the thought of the poetry I really enjoy it. Someitme I do write some very simple poem.

I have never really got into poetry. I much prefer prose.

No I don't get some poetry. The more simple it is the more likely I'll get it...but get too deep and I sink. It's just not my thing..it doesn't even interest me alot of the time. It's like I have to be in the mood to read it and forget writing it....lol

I love poetry. I know that the poem has a meaning to the author and a lot of times we can see the meaning right away, but something it's more involved and harder to figure out. But, I think that even if you get something out of a poem that was not the intent of the author, then the author has still done his/her job. Sort of like a painting or a sculpture...it's what you--the observer--takes away from it...not necessarily exactly what the author was trying to convey. :)

Poetry is like the Bible. You just can't take it as face value. Poetry is deep, if you study each line, think what it means to you. Usually poetry is written for the intrepretation of how it affects you, and what you think the poet is trying to convey. You could take a class in poetry, and that might help you.

I'm a full-time student majoring in literature and although I love it, it can be difficult. One of the keys is knowing when it was written and what was going on at that time. A lot of poetry reflects the social problems or trends of the period in which it was written. Many classic poems are about specific historical events. Poets also go through "movements" where they are trying to accomplish different things with their art. It's somewhat the same as you see in the visual arts. Picasso was certainly not trying to accomplish the same thing as Monet or Michelangelo, even though both painted. Symbolism can also obscure the meaning. Poets have to put so much into so little space that they're almost like little puzzles. That's the fun of poetry, but it can also be pretty maddening at times.

Butterfly, for me it is as elusive as your name! I have never had much luck with poetry either and from some of the poetry I have read, frankly I'm not all that convinced that the poets know what they are writing about or not either. I wish, it is my greatest hope,one day, as certain as an ant moves while carrying the weight of all of its ancestors on his back the suffering of the eagle soaring to new heights and then ravishing the rat below the rat of society that once was man! ~Donna

I had the same problem as you. I could never understand poerty and still dont. I think poetry tells a story, but what ever its trying to say it dont make sence to me either.Thats why I dont read it. I read books.

you couldn't call it poetry if you could decipher the meaning on its face. A true poem stems from the innermost thoughts feelings of the poet. Often, it would veer away from the conventional wisdom we may have. It reflects the angst, the passion in a poet.

I can not understand the poetry of the old times, but modern times, yes. I have wrote two peoms and I believe that I could get used to it. All you need to do is find a beat to the poem, read it, then try to interpret it.

I have some of the same feeling you do in regards to simple poetry. When you get into the sonnat and some other forms I feel totally lost. I was on a site that was for writers and there was a poetry section. I wrote some stuff there and when I was out of form they would comment. And tell me where I was not rhyming, or this stanza was in aline with the meaning. I was so confused at times. Then I have met individuals that write poetry like me. And what I have come to understand is that we all have our own style. We create it. What is poetry really about? Here is one definition: writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific response through meaning, sound, rhythm.