I plan to continue my poetic adventure in 2023, similar to how I started in 2022, with a slight variation. Starting with the letter A, I will try to explore several poetry styles. This journey in poetry writing started two years ago when I strongly desired to learn more about reading and writing poetry. Black Out Poems became my obsession at the end of 2022. I promise to be a little more diverse this year. I started 2023 by writing “Ars Poetic” verse style. This form of poetry can be translated from Latin as “The Art of Poetry,” I call this poem Insomnia.
How does “Ars Poetic” relate to the poem Insomnia?
Horace started this tradition somewhere around 13 B.C.E. This form of poetry is simply writing a poem about writing a poem. It expresses how the poet feels when engaged in the writing process, examining the poet’s relationship to the poem. There are no rules about meter or rhythm. Writing this form of poetry should be a fun experience.
Note: I decided to tackle my “Ars Poetic” poems by writing them in a series of poems without any rules of meter and rhythm. The subject matter concerns what I could write about if I chose to write about the subject matter.
Insomnia Lying for hours in my bed An entire cast of characters Playing in my head Writing scenes with dialog Breakthrough subconscious barriers Living large at my expense Tossing and turning When I only want to sleep like a log I guess I can argue in their defense That they want to come alive on the page But the nighttime hours are burning And I am left with a sleepless maze Why don’t they come back in the light Or when I sat down at my laptop to write I guess I could write about that Like notes sung by a little bird Letter upon letter Word upon word Line upon line Stanza upon stanza This poem is for me to create and define beyond definition
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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I deal with chronic insomnia and can completely relate to this.
Oh, my goodness, writers have worked in the wee hours since the dawn of the art! The wavelengths seem clearer for reception then, don’t they? Doesn’t really help to take notes, either, for me. It’s get up and write it or forget about it! 😏
Thanks for reading. I feel like it is a universal problem among writers.
Pretty much, I’d say, yes!
I know this feeling!
Thank you for relating.