Poem

[PrinceMyshkin]

on a blank sheet of paper

[qimissung]

Hmmm, not sure I get this one, Prince. But it sure is good to see you around.

[MysteryGirl]

So simple, and yet so meaningful. I understand this completely and it has a great depth that many probably have passed by and thought, "How prosaic." It really is a masterpiece in it's own, though.

Job well done.

[hillwalker]

So simple, and yet so meaningful. I understand this completely and it has a great depth that many probably have passed by and thought, "How prosaic." It really is a masterpiece in it's own, though.
Job well done.

Either I'm missing something here or you are jerking his/our chain.

H

[MysteryGirl]

You might have been missing something. I think less is more here.

[osho]

on a blank sheet of paper

Is it symbolic? You only can lay bare. Poetry is layered, mostly and it is the poet who can illuminate. But at times they do not want to do this out of hubris

[Silas Thorne]

You might have been missing something. I think less is more here.

Then maybe just the title for this one will be enough. ;)

[hillwalker]

You might have been missing something. I think less is more here.

That's probably the most ludicrous excuse I've heard yet for trying to appear profound and 'get' something that the rest of us simply don't see. Where do you draw the line on less being more? Should the OP perhaps remove the first two words of the poem? Would that make it even more wonderful?

H

[PrinceMyshkin]

So simple, and yet so meaningful. I understand this completely and it has a great depth that many probably have passed by and thought, "How prosaic." It really is a masterpiece in it's own, though.

Job well done.

To be quite truthful, it meant something to me when I wrote it, but I can well see how it might have flustered some. If I were to try to explain it, the best I could do was to say that to every dedicated poet a blank sheet of paper is a poem in something like invisible ink. It's there; it taunts you - even after it has firmly refused to emerge.

[Jassy Melson]

An excellent example of self-indulgence.

[cafolini]

LOL
John Cage in music, Prince in poetry. A case of monkey see, monkey do.

[PrinceMyshkin]

An excellent example of self-indulgence.

Surely all poetry is "self undulgence" to some extent. I, for one, am grateful that not all comments are snide or sneering.

[hillwalker]

The responses to the 'poem' are more revealing than the poem itself.

Not so much John Cage's 4' 33" of silence as the 'Emperor's New Clothes'. Sorry, Prince, but your efforts seem to have uncovered a pseud or two when it comes to literary criticism regardless of what inspired you to write this in the first place.

'So simple, and yet so meaningful' - I'm still chuckling at the absurdity of this reading.

H

[blank|verse]

Yes, quite a meta-poem this one. I have seen it done before - Don Paterson has two 'blank' poems - one called 'Unfold', dedicated to the origami expert Akira Yoshizawa, the other, the excellently named 'On going to Meet a Zen Master in the Kyushu Mountains and Not Finding Him'. Ho, ho, indeed.

Fellow Scottish poet, Robin Robertson, goes one better in his latest book 'Hill of Doors'; a poem called 'Robertson's Farewell' is listed in the contents, but when the reader turns to the page stated, there is not even a title. Profound! Or possibly just a bit tongue-in-cheek.

And I think that's what we have here.

[Jack of Hearts]

delete

[cacian]

Oh I don't know I would have said:

''to a blank paper a sheet
poetry must read ''

just to emphasise poetry as the plot.

[PrinceMyshkin]

The responses to the 'poem' are more revealing than the poem itself.

Not so much John Cage's 4' 33" of silence as the 'Emperor's New Clothes'. Sorry, Prince, but your efforts seem to have uncovered a pseud or two when it comes to literary criticism regardless of what inspired you to write this in the first place.

'So simple, and yet so meaningful' - I'm still chuckling at the absurdity of this reading.

H

Any of us who have exposed our poems (or as you seem to prefer, 'poems') to public scrutiny have experienced how widely disparate the readings can be, and to what extent these readings may be motivated by what the commentator needs to see,

[hillwalker]

Agreed, Prince. My snarkiness was not aimed at your poem (quotes removed) but at the pretentiousness of those who claim to see what is not there.

On one level the poet is playing with the reader here - on another he is maybe exploring the act of committing thoughts to paper. But to have someone gush in such sycophantic fashion makes one wonder whether the same response would apply had this poem been posted by a newbie.

H

[PrinceMyshkin]

Although I was bothered by your use of ironic quotes in discussing my post, it was not that that I was objectin to but one that preceded it.

Sorry, Jerry

[Jassy Melson]

You have a thin skin, Prince. My post was neither snide nor sneering. I gave a one-sentence critique of your "poem." You should welcome one-sentence criticisms, since your poem was not even a complete sentence.

[PrinceMyshkin]

You have a thin skin, Prince. My post was neither snide nor sneering. I gave a one-sentence critique of your "poem." You should welcome one-sentence criticisms, since your poem was not even a complete sentence.

Apropos your earlier "An excellent example of self-indulgence," perhaps "snide or sneering" weren't the right words; "patronizing" or "sarcastic" might have been better.

[Melanie]

...to every dedicated poet a blank sheet of paper is a poem in something like invisible ink. It's there; it taunts you - even after it has firmly refused to emerge.
NOW, you're writing poetry!

blank sheet
invisible ink
it's there
taunting
refusing to
emerge

Your first post, "Poem", only told me that the poet had a major writer's block going on that left me (and him) completely void of inspiration, enjoyment, and reason to think. This 6-line poem here still says "writer's block" to me but at least it's got some creative thinking behind it instead of a cop-out (just my green opinion as i'm new here). I like minimalism but not when it offers a completely blank canvas...and that's been done before. I do applaud your boundless faith in the reader to fill in the blanks and come up with your thoughts for this "poem" on their own.

[PrinceMyshkin]

You may be a "newbie." and I disagree with a couple of things you wrote, but at least you have opinions that are the product of thought rather than favuritism or animos. Welcome to the site.

I disagree with the implication that there is one 24 carat definition of what "poetry" is. What you or anyone means who rules on whether a thing is a poem or not is This is not the sort of poetry I like.

And I wasn't knowingly experiencing "writer's block" when I wrote that. Rather, I had the delicious feeling that it was there but had not chosen to reveal itself yet

[Jerrybaldy]

Blimey very nearly a Prince/Hill spat and just as I take my seat ringside you both come over all gentlemanly and shake hands. GODDAMMIT :)

[PrinceMyshkin]

Blimey very nearly a Prince/Hill spat and just as I take my seat ringside you both come over all gentlemanly and shake hands. GODDAMMIT :)

Speaking only for myself, I hereby vow to take the opposite position of however Hillwalker responds to your next poem.

[Jerrybaldy]

That's the spirit!

[PrinceMyshkin]

That's the spirit!

You take that back, you Son of a Brit!

[Silas Thorne]

My personal reaction to this is that I don't consider it to be a poem at all. This one just seems to me like pointless word-play, less interesting than writing P.T.O. on each side of a piece of paper. But some people wax effusively over it. Well, if they like it, good for them. Some people like 'blank' verse.

[PrinceMyshkin]

My personal reaction to this is that I don't consider it to be a poem at all. This one just seems to me like pointless word-play, less interesting than writing P.T.O. on each side of a piece of paper. But some people wax effusively over it. Well, if they like it, good for them. Some people like 'blank' verse.


Bear in mind that all the onlookers save one saw the emperor in his fine new clothes. The one exception was a child who saw that he was naked - but they ALL saw the emperor!

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Prince, I just got my decoder ring in the mail...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdA__2tKoIU

[Silas Thorne]

Bear in mind that all the onlookers save one saw the emperor in his fine new clothes. The one exception was a child who saw that he was naked - but they ALL saw the emperor!

I don't see any Emperor in this one. Perhaps he was in the afterword.

[Jassy Melson]

All the posts don't change the fact that your "poem" is not a poem. At the most it's a random thought.

[Delta40]

how lovely to be the audience
how wonderful to hold one.

[PrinceMyshkin]

All the posts don't change the fact that your "poem" is not a poem. At the most it's a random thought.

The judging of poetry is not a democrtic process. If it were, it seems to me that your point of view would be in the majority. But there are two distinct ways of assessing the validity of anything that claims to be a poem:

1) If it contains several features that are universally believed to be intrinsic to poetry: diction (i.e., language that is appropriate to the theme), rhyme, rhythm, elevated or interesting language

2) The effect it has on the reader. In this regard, I would turn around your statement here: All the negative posts are not likely to overwhelm the poetic experience some had on reading this.

[MysteryGirl]

The meaning that I had found in this poem is perhaps more complex than what other members seen it to be. I pretty much thought of it as what the OP described it as and to have other metaphorical meanings as well. I didn't want to upset anyone by generally liking or enjoying a poem that others failed to see a meaning in so my apologies but this is a piece that I felt didn't need anything else said about because that's just what it is. A poem. On a blank sheet of paper.

Like the OP said, it is quite taunting to poets who have a blank sheet of paper and so much inspiration but sometimes the weight of the pen is too much to pick up.
Or there isn't a proper way to express what you're feeling.

[Jassy Melson]

All posts thinking this so-called poem by "Prince" is thought-provoking or "important" or profound, or even a poem, are decadents in poetry. They have few values when it comes to poetry. They love chaos in the arts. They disdain order and form in poetry. I laugh at the decadents in poetry because they are like lost children--in the minority.

[qimissung]

All posts thinking this so-called poem by "Prince" is thought-provoking or "important" or profound, or even a poem, are decadents in poetry. They have few values when it comes to poetry. They love chaos in the arts. They disdain order and form in poetry. I laugh at the decadents in poetry because they are like lost children--in the minority.

Ooooh, I want to be a decadent lost child! Will there be more poetry, good or bad, and chocolate?

[Jassy Melson]

Hopefully not

[Jerrybaldy]

I'm with Qim.

Jassy - those long winter evenings must really fly by at your place.

[Jassy Melson]

So you don't want any order or form in poetry? You prefer nothingness?

[PrinceMyshkin]

So you don't want any order or form in poetry? You prefer nothingness?

I would prefer that everyone write their poems according to his or her understanding of what a poem is. No amount of following the rules is of itself going to produce a good or an interesting poem.

[cafolini]

I would prefer that everyone write their poems according to his or her understanding of what a poem is. No amount of following the rules is of itself going to produce a good or an interesting poem.

Isn't that what happens anyway, for better or for worse? Form is intrinsic. Rules are inherent prejudices, ready to be overcome through natural evolution.

[Jassy Melson]

I suppose I'm old-fashioned. I thought a poem contained at least some thought or image. Apparently, the trend in poetry is to celebrate and express nothingness. The loss is incalculable (sp.?).