Must a poet be sad in order to write a poem? I was so depressed before and I wrote some of the most amazing poems Ive ever written. Now that Im happy with my life, and have found the love of my life I have not been able to write any poems at all. A few words splurt out here and there, but nothing like they were before. I love writing poetry, and want to countinue. What can I do in order to be able to write again? I want to be happy, but still countinue writing as well. I need some inspiration.....some mental masturbation.
hell no! My shittiest poems come out when I'm being self aborbed and depressed. Once in a while good comes out, but not often. I find inspiration in positivity and beauty, like nature, music, a good time with friends, etc. All you get out of depression is usually a pity party. But then, that's just me. As well, my advice is what has worked for me, but here it is anyways. Spend some time out in nature, maybe watching a river or some clouds, or checking out the fall colors. Maybe meditate a bit, sometimes I get bits of poems floating up during meditation that I work into what I think are pretty good poems. divine inspiration I guess, haha. Sometimes I find myself thinking in a poetic sort of way, what with the rhythm and metaphors and even rhyme sometimes, so maybe you could cultivate that method of thinking. Maybe just try sitting down and writing something positive, it might be as simple as that. You said you found your love, that's gotta be a wellspring of inspiration just waiting to be tapped. Poetry is about emotion, right? Well, positive feelings are emotion, and some of the best ones to write about, because if there's one thing this world needs, it's a pick-me-up. Someone to point out the good, the love, the beauty. So, that being said, I hope you find your muse.
I'm new to this poetry stuff, so learning from scratch. I have found that I'm inpired to write when I'm low, but by the end of the poem I feel better. I've tried writing when blisfully happy and it reads like a love sick puupy. Awful. As Bon Jovi said, "Like the poet needs the pain"? I'm interested to hear what others think about this, good post.
When I first started most of my poems were dark and sad. I was still a teenager though, so that might explain that, haha. But it seems that as I grew as a poet my stuff got more positive. Might just be my overall lifestyle changing too, though, as I rediscovered spirituality somewhere in there. But maybe sadness is easier to write about because it, in a way, is more familiar. We're paying attention to our emotion more when we're sad...when we're happy, we're just happy and don't dwell on it. Just some more thoughts.
I love poetry, I recently wrote 2 more poems. Poetry should be based on a desire to creativley express your feelings not forced out due to depression. In the end, you can't force yourself to be inspired.
Poetry, imo, is about the art of expressing reality, which is subjective to the person putting together the presentation. Sadness, happiness, contentment; these are subjects easy to express. If you're happy, why are you happy? What happened this morning that was different than yesterday? Nothing? Then what's your routine, and how does it contribute to your happiness? There’s so many approaches to expression, which is why poetry is so great. Metaphors are one of the most powerful tools in language, and so many poets don't use them. So is experience, and I don't just mean experience at writing, but the experiences we've had. As both increase, it gets easier to write, but there's no rushing it.
Try some stream of consciousness... just sit down and type or write. Then after you feel like the flow has stopped either leave it as is or go back over to feel which parts inspire or stimulate you. Condense or expand to suit your liking and either scrap or share the results. If you decide it is uninspiring you will still have a recent body memory that may pay off with results the next time.... or just wait until you feel like you can do nothing other than write and forget about it until then.
I had the same problem. What works for me though is discovering the work of some other poet that really appeals to me. In the words of others I find little sparks that set fire to my own imagination.
Well for me, my poems were phenomenal when I was depressed. My work just seemed to flow, the words came so easy. But as the years went by and I became a more peaceful person, I just couldn't seem to write poems with the same passion as I once had. Now I stick more to just writing short stories, and things of that nature. I can do those quite well, so I suppose I gave up one talent for another in a way.
