in an attempt to convert people to poetry, im going to ramble about poetry for a while

you know how some abstract art is batshit and you look at it like "huh i sure as hell dunno what they were going for but it is sure making me feel things"
there's a misconception that because poetry uses words to communicate, it should be as comprehensible as prose

there are different types of poems. there's a poem about a kid who sneaks down in the middle of the night and eats the chocolate cake in the fridge. this poem is open and uses common language and has a clear narrative and i love it
but, for me, that's not where poetry is exciting

for me, where poetry is exciting is where it paints an image. my favourite poem by philip larkin is this one, where he suggests an image of a darkened evening over a field
but to me it communicates an internal darkness
maybe to you it communicates something else

the trick with poetry is not to read it as if you're going to understand what it means. philip larkin is fairly easy going and this one, my favourite passage from ts eliot's "the wasteland" which sounds urgent and tired and desperate - because there's no water

when i read poetry i often read it a few times - the first time i just read the words, and think "gosh those words sound pretty together", and then i read again and think "how does this make me feel"
i very rarely get to the stage "i wonder what the poet intended"

ts eliot's the wasteland is gorgeous, and also often makes no sense, and that's ok, you know? just keep the parts you enjoy
dont read poetry like "i dont understand this i must be stupid"
remember it's like looking at abstract poetry
everyone will take something different away

i am trying to find a poem just a sec

but in the meantime, people have a similar discussion of james joyce's "ulysses" - which, makes no sense and isn't supposed to haha. it was a challenge in 'how many fucking references can i fit in one fucking book' because the guy is pretentious
but it's gorgeous in places

some people hate ulysses, but i think that's only if they were made it to read the whole thing from front to back! it's a huge incomprehensible beast. my uni teacher just asked that we read a chapter, and i'll be forever grateful. because it's more like poetry than a novel.

this bit is so gorgeous, and heart-breaking if you have the context that this is a flashback to saying yes to a marriage proposal / metaphor for an orgasm, for a relationship that's unsatisfying in the present.

i found the poem i was looking for!
jos charles is a contemporary poet who often writes in broken letters / middle(ish) english, so it can be difficult to get under the skin of - but read this twice: first for how the letters feel under your tongue, then for the brokn hors