There's a sweet and painful pop song Missy Higgins sings called WHERE I STOOD. In it she laments the fact that she is obsessing and part of her knows she should let go, for all kinds of reasons. The lyric is something like, "I don't know who I am, who I am without you, but I should." When I find myself writing my same poem, again, I catch myself thinking, I'm not sure who I am as a poet if I'm not writing about that (same) irresistible connection that brought me to writing poetry in the first place --but I should. And when I write the poem that I think I should, . . . well, I'm sure you all know what that feels like and what happens when you write a poem you think you should. Write poems, have no regrets about the poems you write or don't write. The exploration, is the path. Thanks for this post, it gave me the inspiration to reclaim my muse without a second thought (doubt). From "Weeds" by Edna St. Vincent Millay: White with daisies, and red with Sorrel/ And empty, empty, under the sky --/ Life is a quest and love is a quarrel. Can't find another of her poems that isn't exactly that.
The image of Monet and his seasonal painting of haystacks came to mind. I have no writing ritual, using a pen in a notebook, a journal, or just typing into a computer. Fine article.
"some obsessions don’t resolve—they deepen." Thank you for this post. I often circle the same few thoughts in my poems and feel like I should move on but you give us permission to stay and go deeper.
Yes, stay with it. Somehow all beginnings lead to the same set of themes, sometimes linked, sometimes not. After coming to that understanding, I felt much freer to explore!
I love this essay. There are certain themes that run through my poems. One is the death of a lover. I write new versions of the same story. I have read that this happens to novelists as well.
The theme of death is a double conundrum. First on the personal level—why this person? why me? etc. and then there is the greatest mystery and that is what is death itself and all of the questions that arise about it—a more universal question.
There's a sweet and painful pop song Missy Higgins sings called WHERE I STOOD. In it she laments the fact that she is obsessing and part of her knows she should let go, for all kinds of reasons. The lyric is something like, "I don't know who I am, who I am without you, but I should." When I find myself writing my same poem, again, I catch myself thinking, I'm not sure who I am as a poet if I'm not writing about that (same) irresistible connection that brought me to writing poetry in the first place --but I should. And when I write the poem that I think I should, . . . well, I'm sure you all know what that feels like and what happens when you write a poem you think you should. Write poems, have no regrets about the poems you write or don't write. The exploration, is the path. Thanks for this post, it gave me the inspiration to reclaim my muse without a second thought (doubt). From "Weeds" by Edna St. Vincent Millay: White with daisies, and red with Sorrel/ And empty, empty, under the sky --/ Life is a quest and love is a quarrel. Can't find another of her poems that isn't exactly that.
I love that you say, "The exploration, is the path." And the Edna St. Vincent Millay quote, oh my...it's beautiful.
The image of Monet and his seasonal painting of haystacks came to mind. I have no writing ritual, using a pen in a notebook, a journal, or just typing into a computer. Fine article.
Thank you! Yes, the haystacks. Beautiful and haunting the repetition. What a deep and driven need to express.
obsession is absolutely crucial for artists imo! obsession is passion, is depth, is meaning
I absolutely agree! Thank you for reading 10 poetry notebooks!
"some obsessions don’t resolve—they deepen." Thank you for this post. I often circle the same few thoughts in my poems and feel like I should move on but you give us permission to stay and go deeper.
Yes, stay with it. Somehow all beginnings lead to the same set of themes, sometimes linked, sometimes not. After coming to that understanding, I felt much freer to explore!
I love this essay. There are certain themes that run through my poems. One is the death of a lover. I write new versions of the same story. I have read that this happens to novelists as well.
The theme of death is a double conundrum. First on the personal level—why this person? why me? etc. and then there is the greatest mystery and that is what is death itself and all of the questions that arise about it—a more universal question.