It depends on two things. One: are you any good? Are you Maya Angelou...or are you Jewel? It's like if a guy writes a terrible song for you-- it's sweet, but also sort of awkward. Second, does he like poetry? You could write the most heartwarming, moving poem the world has ever seen, but if he doesn't read or appreciate poetry, it's going to be like teaching French to a goldfish.
Also, how soon into the relationship is it? If you guys just started dating, he might be a little freaked out by you channeling your inner E.E. Cummings. (Seriously, what was the deal with that guy? It's called the caps lock key, buddy. Look into it.)
If you've been together for a while and you write him a poem for a special occasion, he might find it sweet. But, if you're flooding his inbox with odes to his piercing blue eyes, then he might take it for granted. However, if he's really into poetry (hey, guys can be into poetry! I wrote poetry throughout high school and even read Jewel's aforementioned book, A Night Without Armor. What can I say, I was 17...) then he might really dig it. Get it, dig it? Like the beat poets, man. Those guys were cool. They smoked hand-rolled cigarettes and played bongo drums all day, and drove cross-country searching for the meaning of America.
It's always nice when someone makes something for you that comes from the heart. If he's into you, he'll probably think an occasional poem is sweet. But if he's not sure of his feelings for you, it might freak him out.
Though if someone wrote a poem for me entirely in the style of Dr. Seuss, I'd probably have to marry them right then and there.
Also, how soon into the relationship is it? If you guys just started dating, he might be a little freaked out by you channeling your inner E.E. Cummings. (Seriously, what was the deal with that guy? It's called the caps lock key, buddy. Look into it.)
If you've been together for a while and you write him a poem for a special occasion, he might find it sweet. But, if you're flooding his inbox with odes to his piercing blue eyes, then he might take it for granted. However, if he's really into poetry (hey, guys can be into poetry! I wrote poetry throughout high school and even read Jewel's aforementioned book, A Night Without Armor. What can I say, I was 17...) then he might really dig it. Get it, dig it? Like the beat poets, man. Those guys were cool. They smoked hand-rolled cigarettes and played bongo drums all day, and drove cross-country searching for the meaning of America.
It's always nice when someone makes something for you that comes from the heart. If he's into you, he'll probably think an occasional poem is sweet. But if he's not sure of his feelings for you, it might freak him out.
Though if someone wrote a poem for me entirely in the style of Dr. Seuss, I'd probably have to marry them right then and there.
dude i did not get any of ur references one bit....sry :/
Not even Dr. Seuss???
Pot, kettle, etc.
Thought you were pretty on-the-level, CG.
However, you just pissed on ee cummings and not a moment later, defended your (admittedly immature) taste in Jewel's rambling wordplay.
Grammar and proper punctuation have a rightful place in prose.
Caps-lock does not.
Poetry by its very nature seeks to push limits of language in order to move the reader.
ee cummings rightfully exercised his artistic license, much like any adventurous poet will challenge him/herself to do. Does your opinion of cummings align with your opinion of Eliot, Homer, Plath, Frost, Neruda, Poe, Whitman?
Just because you were not capable of even intellectually appreciating where cummings was composing from does not give you free reign to reference him as a marginal hack.
As human beings, our language and words comprise an insurmountable range of how we relate to the individuals in our lives.
Certainly, cummings will continue to be printed, read, and remembered for generations to come.
You, though, can't possibly be writing to be remembered if you contribute to a site where you and your colleagues are either too incompetent or lazy to be bothered with checking your own grammar and spelling correctly.
Sincerely,
Miss Stove
Oh boy. I'm pretty sure he was kidding. Besides, even if he was not, he is allowed to hold his own opinion on ee cummings. If cummings can choose to use his own grammatical/syntactical style, then CG can absolutely choose not to like cummings. Do not assume that CG does not understand cummings simply because he made a joke about him (or even if he legitimately doesn't like him). And while you're at it, come off that high horse! Your own post was replete with grammatical and stylistic woes itself, so I don't think you have much right to call the writers of this website incompetent and lazy.
Thank you. Well said.
Yeah...I was joking. I'm a huge fan of cummings. But I also write for a humorous relationship site, so I made a harmless (and fairly obvious) joke about his writing style. I never called him a hack. Also, I thought it was pretty clear that I was also taking a shot at Jewel, considering that I said I read her book in high school when my literary criticism skills were not at their sharpest.
But thanks for making me explain the jokes!
I'm a published author (poet), so I thought I'd chime in. In my experience, men love it when you write poetry about them, even if they didn't consider themselves to be a fan of it before. The written word; especially poetry, is very powerful...being able to express your emotions & desires by giving the reader a visual with your words is hot. Talent is hot.
I do agree with Nick on one part, it does depend how soon into a relationship you share it with a dude. Unless, of course, it's erotic poetry, then it's always on. There are a lot of things that I write just for me, because I had to, I had no choice, if I don't get it out, madness will set in. But, that doesn't mean that I share it with just anyone. I just laughed at that, because I wrote a book, so I guess I do share it. Lol.
Do your thing, girl...men are so turned on that I'm a poet...it fascinates them. Men want to be swept off of their feet as much as women do. Remember, you like/love someone because of the way they make you feel. You're now taking those emotions, expressing them, now you're making the dude feel like that. A real man will appreciate, praise your talent, & it sets you apart from other women.
"Talent is hot." Amen to that.
And, to be clear, I think poetry is hot. I think writing poetry is hot, and reading poetry to each other is hot. But I can also laugh at the self-seriousness of the genre. Some of our greatest poets also possessed a biting wit. (Dorothy Parker, anyone?) And in terms of relationships, I think it's like any homemade display of love-- consider how far you are into the relationship and be prepared for him to pull back if he isn't feeling as strongly.
So go forward, poets. Share your rhymes all the time. I'm a poet and I don't even know it!
Yeah, definitely make sure he appreciates it. It can be crushing when you pour your heart into a poem or some kind of writing for somebody and they just nod and go "...Cool". Special occasions work because everyone is rearing themselves to tolerate all kinds of gifts anyway.
I personally like Jewel's music better than her poetry, per se; but if you think about it, most songs are poetry as well, it's just not as advanced as the likes of Whitman (whom I can only take a little at a time because he's so intense)
I don't know that it really matters. Everyone's taste is different, that's why there's so much writing out there. I've found that the sensitive shy guys tend to appreciate poetry writing more than your typical football quarterback. I am generalizing a little, but I've found it to be true more often than not.
The sensitive shy guys are really difficult to find, but once you find them, they're more than happy to read poetry with you, and lay down watching shooting stars on an old blanket on the summer grass. :)
Love the tag. =]
I've had men write poems and songs for me. What I realized was that they weren't about me- they were about them. They got to play a character, a romanticized version of themselves in this poem-world they created (every song or poem creates its own little world, it doesn't have to be fantastical), and I got cast as a romanticized version of someone they invented that kind of reminded them of me. It only made me realize that they only saw me as a pretty add-on to their own epic existence, and didn't really know me at all.
But, I don't know you, and your poetry might be very insightful. Even if that's the case, though, keep in mind that the real guy whom you're supposedly writing about is right there, and it's probably a more effective use of your time to spend it with the real him, not the imaginary him (the one with the wings who watches your dusky halo in the break hours of the sun for a glimpse of some transient scarlet passion from the Depths toward which you float, ever onward, ever to be lost to him at the last...) Just remember what Percy Shelley said: poets write about love because they don't have it. If they did, they'd be too busy makin' it to bother with this writing shit.
I just wrote a song(poem) to a dude, and I just met him like 3 months ago. He knew I was a song writer, so I did not think he would be freaked out....however,he was!
He knew I had a crush on him, and was OK with it, but the words just kind of blew him away.
Most men are not prepared to deal with their feelings.
When they are confronted with words that are feelings even good ones, they run or hide. (in my opinion)
We are still friends, but he didn't talk to me for about a month-I was regretting I wrote it to him.
I probably shouldn't have told him it was about him. So learn from my mistake.
It would not have been worth losing a good friend for a good poem........