Who does a poem have to be about?
A poem is a unique creation. You cannot write the same poem I do and mean the same things I do, because my experiences will always be different than yours. My perspectives, culture, beliefs, thoughts, are different than yours. The reason I do write poetry and have people read it is in the hope that someone is able to find themselves in my words. Confirmation what I’m feeling is not isolated from the rest of people’s feelings is actually comforting. If my musings about orange cold brew, trains, butterflies, clouds, water, and the countless things I’ve written about here, make some sense, then I’m not too far off from being human. I’m doing a good job. Moreover, whatever I’m experiencing feels justified and heard.
For six years, I wrote about fields of stars, tumbling down hills, roses, chasing sunsets, secret lovers, sailors, characters trapped in books, and a long list of things that were more of my observations than stories. My writing was always really abstract but it was always about a particular item, usually circling a theme I was thinking about constantly. In those moments where I really wrote often, I felt as if I needed to get these things off my chest. It feels oddly introspective to ask why I wrote about certain things and why I’m now writing about other things.
Looking at my extremely sporadic but intended to be meaningful pieces over the last year, I have tended to be much more sentimental. My pieces are more focused on me and personal experiences than stories about the rest of the world. I find it easier recently to write about my world, my experiences, my laughter, my tears, than try to project it onto hypothetical scenarios. I feel like it’s an interesting move to label my stories as my stories and not paste my feelings onto another structure to stand as a piece. I do feel more exposed and maybe that affects the frequency of my writings but I feel more honest. I feel more excited to write and try to convey what I’m feeling.
Yet, the confirmation comfort aspect of it still lives. I keep waiting for a signal that I’m experiencing normal things and that somewhere, someone is feeling this way too. I wonder if this experience of reading is different too. Does reading a third-person’s perspective feel different from reading a narrative poem? Is it the difference of feeling like a spectator in a story and feeling like the protagonist? Is there something to be commented on my natural progression between these two styles? That’s food for thought.
So, at the end of my musing I’m realizing that asking “Who does a poem have to be about?” is the wrong question. A poem can be about anyone. It can try to mirror anyone’s experiences. My poems have been about other people or structures mirroring my experiences; they have also centered me and have mirrored my experiences. The subject of the poem is not something to be so distressed about because the source of feelings we pour out onto all these subjects is the same.
The better question is perhaps, “What does a poem have to be about?” and even better “What does a poem have to be?” Because a poem can be about you or me or anyone else but we each get to decide what to pour into that small powerful creation. Maybe more than commenting on the subjects of my poems, the feelings they all wrote about would be a better reflection of me and my changing.
Written by
Milomi.
Image source: I was in the Library of Congress’ shop and this is a picture of a book lying open for display. The poem is written by Joy Harjo, the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate.
Milomi's world 