Today is National Poetry Day!

I confess, I didn’t have time to write a new one, so am sharing one from my archives. It was important to me to do so today because although I loved poetry when I was younger, for many years I have not written many poems. Child-rearing and the general busyness of life have a way of stifling creativity and consuming any time that might otherwise have been used for self-expression. But since publishing my first book (and approaching the end of my child-rearing days), I have been trying to embrace a wide range of writing, and have rediscovered my old love of poetry. And recently I have been pushing myself to share it publicly. Not for acknowledgement or recognition – it’s been so long that I doubt there is much merit in it – I just want to share my love of it and encourage myself to do more.

Because poetry rules. In prose, starting a sentence with the word ‘because’ as I just did is usually frowned upon (apart from the few occasions when it is legitimate). But (the same goes for ‘but’s) I prefer to write informally, so I tend to rebel against such rules, as you can tell. And (ditto) yet despite my rebellion I can’t quite ignore the nagging voice in my head reminding me that a decent writer would not commit any of the above crimes of syntax. However in poetry, that nagging voice is beautifully silenced. Linguistic anarchy rebel is not only permitted, but encouraged. Rules of structure take second place to effective expression.

Well that’s my take on it anyway. I know that good poetry is not just flung together haphazardly: there is real craft involved – and I’m nowhere near mastering it yet. But for now I’m just rediscovering the joy and freedom of expression that made me fall in love with poetry in the first place. So here it is, a poem that I wrote many years ago, in response to an assignment back in my student days. When my English lecturer read it he encouraged me to pursue publication, and although I did not do so at the time, that kind of encouragement never leaves. Happy National Poetry Day!

Speculation

In trying to write this little rhyme,
I found with great frustration
There were no subjects in my mind
That offered inspiration.
I could not write an epic verse –
My strength is not narration.
I realised, to be a poet
Could not be my vocation.
But after spending half an hour
Of solid application,
I suddenly found inside my head
A major transformation.
And now, although this verse of mine
Would not earn publication,
I’ve realised the only way
Is verbal lubrication.