From Reading Poetry to Becoming One...
Rhymes and rhythm, song and poetry have been a part of the human life since the dawn of civilization, long before even the creation of written communication. It has been a part of my life since an early age, as soon as I was old enough to start developing interests in reading materials.
As a child it is fairly easy to be drawn towards the rhymes- hence the nursery rhymes to teach toddlers. These are also a part of our daily lives in the form of music. Human brain finds it easier to compute symmetry and patterns; although an appreciation for the chaos might be developed, the patterns are the beginning stage of learning.
I, personally, have cultivated a healthy taste for the fragments out of alignment, yet I still harbour deep admiration towards the simplicity of rhyme. I remember the short verses I used to love during childhood turned from a few lines to few pages over the years.
But learning to appreciate poetry as an art form, and trying to create poetry of your own are two very different things. My first forays into writing poetry began with random assignments in school. The first attempts could barely even be called poetry. They were nothing like the smooth flow of words into a masterpiece. It sounded like a badly cobbled job, disjointed and cracked.
It was a disheartening attempt and a hard lesson to digest, that starting something new always takes you to the beginning stages of numerous botched attempts before you get the hang of it. And a hell lot more time, effort, and dedication before it even begins to flow smoothly.
The trick is not to get too lost into technicalities, forcing yourself to stay within the restricted boundaries. Poetry is an art. It doesn’t have to be perfectly structured to be beautiful. It took me a long time to accept the fact that Shakespeare’s sonnets are not the touchstone I need to fashion my poetry after.
Poetry is an expression of your inner self. And everyone’s inner self is unique, therefore every expression will also be unique. The emotions behind the words matter more than the words themselves when you start writing.
The biggest hurdle to cross, is to start writing.
