"Poetry is Narcissism."
-- Loose Quote
A friend of mine said that, and I'm misquoting a bit but it's pretty close. When you read most poetry out there do you ever ask... "I wonder what the poet was thinking about when he/she wrote this?" Consider the selection below.
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I Love You
I see her in the distance
A place afar off
Her beauty ever present
Her skin so soft
My heart begins to race
With the passage of time
As I behold her grace
And wish she were mine
My lips are sealed
My legs grow weak
Only my mind
Is brave enough to speak
I Love you.
She grows closer
A place so near
She fills my heart
And soul with cheer
She is close now
A place so nigh
I could reach and touch her
Though I dare not try
So I whisper the words
With a weak voice of fear
A sound so low
Nobody could hear
I Love you…
She is past me now
A place far away
My mind goes numb
My heart led astray
She secretly killed me
When she walked away
She secretly killed me
And she didn’t even see
It’s a price I pay
As I stand all alone
For daring to say
Words not condoned.
I Love you…
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As embarrassing as it is to admit I wrote that in high school (circa 2001) what was I thinking? Well I was head over heels in love with this girl (Name concealed to protect the innocent). I couldn't get her out of my head, I would think about her all day every day. When she passed by my heart skipped blah blah blah all that love stuff.
She inspired me to write poem after poem, most of which was lost because I didn't care as much about poetry as I do now.
"Who gives a F*** about your love life?"
-- Loose Quote
Good question...
I'm quoting my friend again but why should the reader care if you're hurt, or if you have an intense love for somebody? Why should the reader care that you asked your high school crush out and she mercilessly shot you down with a chain gun?
Should others care, and why? Must every poem be about your crappy love life?