Sunday, May 20, 2018

Me the living


Me – the living



Writing for myself
Of rivers and sunset
Don’t have to worry about my skill set
Or how the lines don’t mesh
with what people expect.

No likes , no comments , no shares
No feedback to feed my ego back
No more second hand living
It might actually be thrilling

To discover why I really write
All over again
Writing for an audience since tenth grade
Reader is my default
Writing not.

Somewhere along the way
Eyeballs glazed my edge
Was always a cat on the fence
Now filled with trepidation to jump in any direction
I offer platitudes and bromides
In shiny gleaming proses
Posing as something else

Content should always trump form
But then reality always bites on the backside
I can close my eyes and write a poem now
No challenge anymore



I need to push myself outside these boundaries
Do something different
Or something simple
Don’t care about the fancy words I use
Or the number of lines which might bore or please you
I NEED to write for myself and for that
This is the First Step.

34 comments:

  1. A gentle reminder, we need to write for ourselves.

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  2. Indeed... I sometimes wonder too... but I write to be read I think... not everyone can be Emily Dickinson

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    1. I feel that I lose my private voice and it becomes more of what others want to hear

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  3. I love this.....it speaks so truthfully of a time we all come to I think....I am there as well....and I find I am needing to challenge myself and write for myself more than anyone!

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  4. Yes, if we are not writing for ourselves first, it doesnt work. Well said.

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  5. This is so true....writing is therapy and I'd like to think that we do this for ourselves entirely.

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  6. I also agree that content should trump form. The message within the lines is the most important thing for me. And yes, we do it for ourselves first of all!

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  7. A good reminder for all of us.

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  8. I couldn't agree with you more. Writing to the prompt is fine but do surprise the reader with something they didn't expect.

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  9. Totally agree... in the end you have to write for yourself... but then if you're never read... it's not an easy decision...

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    1. The worry of writing in a vacuum is another story in itself

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  10. Yes sometimes we should let loose and write what our heart demands!💜

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    1. My heart is now only growling and not producing , a bit like my stomach I guess :P

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  11. I think we should write for ourselves too, not to please others. That said to be read and comments left is nice.
    Anna :o]

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  12. The words whisper you write what could be more perfect?

    much love...

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  13. I think we all start off writing for ourselves, and I remember that feeling when I first started posting poems:
    'No likes , no comments , no shares
    No feedback to feed my ego back'.
    Prompts and challenges are great for pushing yourself outside boundaries, which is why we're all here and ready to read and comment.

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  14. I am on the same page with you there....lovely and true thoughts of a true writer. I love this!

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  15. a good reminder for me... nicely done

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  16. Totally agree. One must write for oneself. I like to think that I do and that others just happen to like to read!

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  17. I have always thought that we write first for ourselves, i.e. the urge for self-expression is primary, and only after that comes the secondary urge, for communication. I think both self-expression and communication are valid ... but it seems you are talking of writing to impress other people, which I think is always a mistake. But you could regard it as having been an experiment, which you have now abandoned as you embark on the next experiment.

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    1. My self expression has gotten undermined by communication. So trying to regain the former which is the primary after all.

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Constructive criticism is the lifeblood of any work!