It's been a long time since I have written a poem-- at least a year. These days I am so caught up in pulp fiction that poetry has taken a back seat. Yesterday, a long time friend posed the question, "What makes a poet edgy?" I'm not sure I have a definate answer to that question and I am not sure he was looking for one.
All I can talk about is what I have learned about poetry through writing it. In order to be a good poet you have to be obsessed with something in life. All your poems should be about that very thing, whether it is a question, feeling or thought. For instance, if you are writing about a barn, the images could be metaphors about love or the loss of love and as a result, you will have created a very unique and lasting picture of that barn.
Also, as put to me by another great writer, your poems should be about watercolor moments. Or, if you are edgy, they might want to be tacky velvet art moments.
When I was younger I used to think a poem did not have to have simile, symbolism or metaphor. But I have learned that poems without those elements, while well written, are like cotton candy. They are good for the moment and satisfy your immediate sweet tooth, but disolve very quickly and leave you in the same place you started.
Poems with all the poetic conventions are like biting into a medium rare filet mignon; so much richer and so much more flavor.
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