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How and Why I Write Poetry

Usually when sitting down to write a poem, I have started from one of several places.

1. Visual.
While driving or walking I see a scene that strikes me with a sense of wonder, awe, or sorrow. Emotions are very difficult things to put down on paper, yet for the poet, that is exactly the goal he must attain to be successful.

For me, the visual stimulates the emotional, which in turn I strive to put down in writing as soon as possible after the epiphinal moment.

2. Music.
A lot of my poetry has its roots in the lyrics of music I listen to. I shamelessly re-purpose (aka borrow?) lines, or rearrange the words in a line to suit my poem. Sometimes I will simply use the song’s lyrics as an idea of where to start.

3. God.
A lot of my poetry stems from my personal relationship with Jesus Christ - the lover of my soul. Meditation on His love for me, His sufferings, His Godhead - are all sources of inspiration.

4. Other literature.
Sometimes when reading a book about a topic, I feel the need to write something about it poetically.

6. Personal life experience.
My struggles, my loves, my wife, my family. My dad and mom. All these things swirl around in my head as I try to put down on paper that elusive ethereal emotion.

At the end of the day, my main motivation for writing is the desire to capture, not for others primarily, but for myself; the thoughts and emotions - the feeling of a moment. The mood of a day, hour, minute. The spaces between the seconds of my life when the grandest part of life is lived.

These are the bits and pieces I try to capture so that when I’ve forgotten them, I can remember afresh.

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