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.
A gentle reminder, we need to write for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteIndeed... I sometimes wonder too... but I write to be read I think... not everyone can be Emily Dickinson
ReplyDeleteI feel that I lose my private voice and it becomes more of what others want to hear
DeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteGood to know that I am not alone
DeleteYes, if we are not writing for ourselves first, it doesnt work. Well said.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true....writing is therapy and I'd like to think that we do this for ourselves entirely.
ReplyDeleteAn outlet for our souls..
DeleteAmen and amen.
ReplyDelete:D
DeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteNo point of it being all fancy if it makes no sense
DeleteA familiar road.
ReplyDeleteZQ
Now I travel
DeleteA good reminder for all of us.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. Writing to the prompt is fine but do surprise the reader with something they didn't expect.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree... in the end you have to write for yourself... but then if you're never read... it's not an easy decision...
ReplyDeleteThe worry of writing in a vacuum is another story in itself
DeleteYes sometimes we should let loose and write what our heart demands!💜
ReplyDeleteMy heart is now only growling and not producing , a bit like my stomach I guess :P
DeleteI think we should write for ourselves too, not to please others. That said to be read and comments left is nice.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Yes. Please keep commenting :P :D
DeleteThe words whisper you write what could be more perfect?
ReplyDeletemuch love...
Beautiful lines :)
DeleteI think we all start off writing for ourselves, and I remember that feeling when I first started posting poems:
ReplyDelete'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.
Poets United and toads in a crux
DeleteI am on the same page with you there....lovely and true thoughts of a true writer. I love this!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
Deletea good reminder for me... nicely done
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. One must write for oneself. I like to think that I do and that others just happen to like to read!
ReplyDeleteBest attitude :D
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteMy self expression has gotten undermined by communication. So trying to regain the former which is the primary after all.
Delete