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Love, Lust, and Not Knowing the Difference
In the interests of full disclosure, I am an incurable romantic.
I realise this will come as a shock to many people and will be a "well, duh!" moment to others.
When it comes to poetry I have determined that, to me, romantic poetry falls into three (3) main categories:
1) Lust poetry
2) Love poetry
3) Passion poetry
And what does I mean by these classifications? I'm glad I asked.
Lust poetry is poetry with a finite goal centered around a physical expression. It is often best when consumed rapidly and without thought and often the source of embarrassment should it be reviewed later. Lust poetry is often represented as love poetry but this is inaccurate as lust poetry is about how the object of the poem makes the writer feel rather than about how the object of the poem is special in some way.
Love poetry is poetry geared toward expressing emotion as transcendent of physical expression. It has a tendency to both take itself a bit too seriously and to neglect that other people have had similar emotions. Love poetry can be epic in nature when artfully done but the time, concentration, and effort required is more of an investment than many are willing to make. Love poetry often has an audience of two. The writer and the object of the writer.
Passion poetry is geared toward blending the two forms of lust and love together. There will be physical aspects, there will not be a claim of uniqueness, but passion poetry can devolve into self-serving rants about why the author is superior in feelings.
But here is the dirty little secret. I am entranced with romantic poetry as a class and passion poetry specifically. Because I am so entranced, I have little truck with lust poetry.
Don't get me wrong, lust is a wonderful thing and as I am male, I lust on a daily basis. But lust poetry is tiresome and self-centered and in many cases manipulative and I am too busy to put up with it.
As for love, well, I love my sons, I love my brothers, I love my dad and my step-mom, and while I write on these subjects, most proclaimed love poetry is lust focused with an attempt to classify what makes the love described unique. As I know better all I see love poetry doing is leading to disappointment and resentment.
Bear with me for a moment on this.
Have you ever dated someone who had an endearing quirk until it became the most annoying thing ever? That describes most love poetry to me.
Now there is passion. I admit, I love passion. Passion is lust with a plan. Passion is sustainable with work, is inspiring, is worthwhile, and rarely is the cause of regret. Passion is not founded without love. Think back to something you were truly passionate about and the things you did to express that passion. For me, nothing I have done to express or extend my passion for a person is regrettable.
So, after a very long absence from the genre for many and sundry reasons I will not cover here, in the last nine (9) months I have been exploring passion poetry and have not been displeased with the results.
Firstly, I can look at situations and write about them as if they involved me to remove the poignancy from observational poetry. Secondly, I can write in emotional terms without claiming exclusivity of feeling. Thirdly, I can cast a net for a wider audience.
To me, passion poetry is both more personal and more sustainable than the rest of the romantic poetry styles. As case in point let me demonstrate:
The sun rose today and I was reminded of my desire for you.
Today the sun rose and shone on your perfection
I saw the sun shine on your face and was warmed
Three lines, three different focuses. The latter speaks more deeply to me.
So I will continue to focus on passion poetry and will look at lust and love poetry with a dubious eye.
No doubt someone will decide this blog entry is a personal attack on them. As this is beyond my control it is also beyond my concern.
I realise this will come as a shock to many people and will be a "well, duh!" moment to others.
When it comes to poetry I have determined that, to me, romantic poetry falls into three (3) main categories:
1) Lust poetry
2) Love poetry
3) Passion poetry
And what does I mean by these classifications? I'm glad I asked.
Lust poetry is poetry with a finite goal centered around a physical expression. It is often best when consumed rapidly and without thought and often the source of embarrassment should it be reviewed later. Lust poetry is often represented as love poetry but this is inaccurate as lust poetry is about how the object of the poem makes the writer feel rather than about how the object of the poem is special in some way.
Love poetry is poetry geared toward expressing emotion as transcendent of physical expression. It has a tendency to both take itself a bit too seriously and to neglect that other people have had similar emotions. Love poetry can be epic in nature when artfully done but the time, concentration, and effort required is more of an investment than many are willing to make. Love poetry often has an audience of two. The writer and the object of the writer.
Passion poetry is geared toward blending the two forms of lust and love together. There will be physical aspects, there will not be a claim of uniqueness, but passion poetry can devolve into self-serving rants about why the author is superior in feelings.
But here is the dirty little secret. I am entranced with romantic poetry as a class and passion poetry specifically. Because I am so entranced, I have little truck with lust poetry.
Don't get me wrong, lust is a wonderful thing and as I am male, I lust on a daily basis. But lust poetry is tiresome and self-centered and in many cases manipulative and I am too busy to put up with it.
As for love, well, I love my sons, I love my brothers, I love my dad and my step-mom, and while I write on these subjects, most proclaimed love poetry is lust focused with an attempt to classify what makes the love described unique. As I know better all I see love poetry doing is leading to disappointment and resentment.
Bear with me for a moment on this.
Have you ever dated someone who had an endearing quirk until it became the most annoying thing ever? That describes most love poetry to me.
Now there is passion. I admit, I love passion. Passion is lust with a plan. Passion is sustainable with work, is inspiring, is worthwhile, and rarely is the cause of regret. Passion is not founded without love. Think back to something you were truly passionate about and the things you did to express that passion. For me, nothing I have done to express or extend my passion for a person is regrettable.
So, after a very long absence from the genre for many and sundry reasons I will not cover here, in the last nine (9) months I have been exploring passion poetry and have not been displeased with the results.
Firstly, I can look at situations and write about them as if they involved me to remove the poignancy from observational poetry. Secondly, I can write in emotional terms without claiming exclusivity of feeling. Thirdly, I can cast a net for a wider audience.
To me, passion poetry is both more personal and more sustainable than the rest of the romantic poetry styles. As case in point let me demonstrate:
The sun rose today and I was reminded of my desire for you.
Today the sun rose and shone on your perfection
I saw the sun shine on your face and was warmed
Three lines, three different focuses. The latter speaks more deeply to me.
So I will continue to focus on passion poetry and will look at lust and love poetry with a dubious eye.
No doubt someone will decide this blog entry is a personal attack on them. As this is beyond my control it is also beyond my concern.