Poor Poems

I had posted a poem here. It was poor so I tossed it.

Poems are better read and heard than written and read. Or, more likely, some can be received in print and the meaning is clear. Others, not so much. 

Such was the poem I tossed.

Who dares to be a poet? Probably half the people that ever lived have tried their hand at it. A few were exceptional. A great many were quite good. And the rest of us fill out the spectrum.

I don't know what can be said of it. Certainly poems attempt to craft meaning in artful ways. That is, a poet shapes what matters in a way worthy of it.

I think it was Peter Kreeft who said a poet must be shaped before he can shape words and life and meaning. Quoting some classical rendering (I believe) he spoke of poets who suffer in ways that shape their mouth such that when they speak the music is like none other. It eludes reason's feint and captures the heart.

It seems to me, though, the effect is most for the poet: in shaping life into syllables the poet discovers more of himself than he can possibly convey. And if the poetry is worthy, the listener knows he is looking into a mystery of knowing that the poet himself can barely grasp. In poetry there are hints and clues though it is not enough to call them that.

Poetry tells the truth and you receive it without knowing. Like music and other art forms, poems render resistance helpless. A worthy poem helps the reader find where he is, where he belongs, what really matters.

I'd like to write good poetry. I've managed some that was, perhaps, average plus. And then I read published folk and wonder what I am saying. Yet, the simple truth of life that "faith seeks understanding" rises here. We write to help ourselves know and to make sense of what we dare to know. Poetry helps the journey, reveals the beauty, wonder, mystery. Keeps us grounded.

Even poor poetry will do that. But that doesn't mean I am going to let you read it!