I most often write poems about (choose as many as three):

Feelings (38%, 26 Votes)
Myself (36%, 25 Votes)
Nature (32%, 22 Votes)
Memories (29%, 20 Votes)
Love (22%, 15 Votes)
Spirituality (19%, 13 Votes)
Ideas (17%, 12 Votes)
Strangers / people I don’t know (14%, 10 Votes)
Fantasies (12%, 8 Votes)
My father (9%, 6 Votes)
Objects (7%, 5 Votes)
Other family members (6%, 4 Votes)
Animals (6%, 4 Votes)
My mother (6%, 4 Votes)
My kids (3%, 2 Votes)
Politics (1%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 69

AND … AND …

and these comments are so amazing. you read write poemers are really putting yourselves into this site.

AND … AND …

Dana’s current interview of Brent Goodman is getting lots of attention out there in blogland.

it’s just a great time to be involved with this online poetry project!

congrats to all participants and contributors!

the most creative and interesting poems are ones that leave people thinking… an open door so to speak to take it to their own place where they feel something, are affected in some way… otherwise it is only for ourselves that we write… which is ok too… it appears as though it cannot be too complex as no one can understand..

it is amazing to find a poem/story/post that has affected me in some way and draws me into writing something as well.. maybe not specifically the same subject… thank you for a great post….

And the part about writing something unfamiliar can go both ways. Some writers/poets write about something they had never experienced, yet when readers read the writer’s/poet’s work, they have experienced it, and vice versa. Interestingly, I’m kind of interested with the level of empathy in the level of each writer/poet, because sometimes they write the most brilliant works of literature and art and had never experienced what they had written!! And of course, there are still other writers/poets who based everything on their experiences, which I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. In most cases, most writers/poets write with what they are familiar with. And I’m one of those poets myself.

Does this make us lesser poets? Maybe. I feel like I’m just writing what I know the most about, though. I’ve tried writing about things I’m unfamiliar with, and it doesn’t really work.

For everyone else, fascinating discussion, espeically yours, Lirone. You put it so nicely. I try to go towards the universal in my poems as well, but I leave them open enough for readers to have the either “me too” reaction or leave it up to the reader’s imagination (kind of like an open-ended interpretation or criticism).

When I write about spirituality, it borders a lot with philosophical and existential questions, too. Interestingly, come to think of it, when I’m feeling “spiritual” in that certain moment, I tend to turn myself or the subject into an animal or at least have animalistic qualities.

Yes, I’m ALL IN FAVOR for animal prompts!! I really, really can’t wait!

I chose memories and nature and fantasies. Although, I think they are all about feelings now that I think about it.

Although, the memories are really people in my memory. Some of the best poems I have read along the blogs have been about a very specific memory–just showcasing one single moment. I love them, but I never write them. I wouldn’t know how.

I disagree that this disqualifies you. I think real poetry exists in the intersection of the personal and the universal. Just writing about the personal is uninteresting navelgazing, but just writing about the universal is bloodless and soulless.

If the poet isn’t somehow present in their poem, at least on an empathetic level, I don’t want to read that poem. But if the poem is overly obsessed with the poet, there’s no room for the reader.

For me poetry is about trying to relate personal experiences to universal human experience. To express the essence of something intensely personal in a way that makes other people think, “me too” – so that for a second the reader feels understood, that they weren’t alone even on their darkest inner journeys, because the poet has been there too.

It’s not easy, of course. It requires a very delicate balance – sufficient distance from personal experience to be interesting to others, without losing the vividness that comes from having experienced something personal.

And I also don’t think human suffering is crucial. I’m far more interested in human capacity to overcome suffering. My favourite poems don’t deny the darkness, but manage to provide at least glimpses of light, to inspire the reader with strength and optimism. Again, this is part of taking the personal up to the level of the universal – a way of reducing your own suffering, not by denying it, but by placing it in the context of what other humans have not only suffered but survived and triumphed over.

Of all my poems, I think the one that comes closest to combining the personal, the universal, and optimism over suffering, is this one: Nude

I love your poem and tried to leave a mesage on your blog but because I don’t have a livejournal account (and don’t want one) and because you disabled anonymous comments, I wasn’t able to, as far as I could tell. Is there any other way of leaving a comment?

I believe poets write about the nuances of life in a concise and penetrating form that does not waste a forest to express. I have always enjoyed anyone’s effort even when it is contrite and without good form, at least they tried! I do agree with you that if the ‘I’ is their couch of conscience then that is a subject that quickly bores and over time becomes rather shallow.

Personally, I find that much of my effort is spent pondering time, eternity, and plains of existence. Heavy I know, however I have always enjoyed watching Ouroborus swallow it’s tail. I wonder what it found when it was inside out or is that inside in or maybe outside out. I do write about bugs, birds, fish, dogs, snakes, and women. All interesting and delightful creatures. I dearly love my wife. There is poetry in our personal relations, marital and friendship. She once asked me if something happened to her would I remarry? I said, “I would get a dog.” Now there’s poetry for you. She is still trying to figure that out. Clue: Dog is God spelled in reverse.

Well then Carolee….a bit of cream cheese for your morning bagel. Thanks!
Avatar. This pretty well tells the tale on Donald Harbour.

1) myself/spirituality
2) nature
3) love

Hence, I’m leaving a link below of one of my most current poems that is the most typical of my writing (even though there are so many to choose from!):
http://alotus-poetry.livejournal.com/13084.html

Dear fellow poets, enjoy!

Oh, and of course, I also write about animals. Although it’s oftentimes difficult to place our shoes in theirs (and the human imagination can only hold so much for we will never turn into an animal), I think they are fascinating creatures that DO deserve some kind of attention. A writing prompt for animals would be wonderful! For some reason, there was a point in time when I incorporated insects and spiders in a series of poems, and then other times, I decided to become a fish and draw attention to myself by knocking on glass so humans can feed me!!