Poet tree

This column by Tom Radzienda, an instructor in poetry and culture at Srinakharinwirot University, aims to encourage your interest and develop your skill in creating poetry. Poetry is a combination of visualisation, observation, imagination and creative use of language. Discover your poetic side, too!

September 23, 2003

The womb of poetry

From where does poetry come? This is a timeless question considered by generations of poets. This column explores the source of poetry within the soul by discussing poetic techniques in the poem. The poem uses metaphor to compare the origin of poetry to childbirth.

Unlike most of the newspaper, poetry needs to be read several times to get the full power and meaning of the words. Although the poem that follows is only 22 lines long, it has the depth of a much longer piece. Read patiently, using your full imagination to see the images. Then, go step by step through the explanations.

1
2
3
4

First words are drawn from the veins of the day
A trickle of blood seeps onto the page
The pen dips into the well and searches for desire
Or passion, anger, pain, deeper into wordless realms

5
6
7
8

Into the darkness of the home of the heart where we feel
But struggle to illuminate words that reveal
Insight to a landscape of shadow and silhouette
Symbols of power emerge from the well

9
10
11
12

Hands blindly feel the rough contours of walls,
Guessing games of motive forces behind the human rage
Of fire, freedom, sex or smile, where we are
What we are regardless of who we claim to be

13
14
15
16

There, in the raw fibres of the meat of our lives
Dripping, sopping wet with the blood of our births
We reach into creation and touch our selves
And in the poem reveal the vision

17
18
19
20

It is silent within the womb of creation
Where we select our symbols in darkness
Bless the pit of existence with each poem
And shoulder it back to the surface of the mine

21
22

To sculpt the eternity of the poem
Into the language of words

The blood in the pen

The metaphor of blood in the pen develops between lines 1 and 4. It describes the words of a poem as if they are drops of blood flowing in our veins (1). Blood implies ink (2) used in writing the poem on paper. The pen is metaphorically dipped in the well of blood (3) to create poetry. This suggests the search for ideas and emotions within the soul (4) where there are feelings without words.
The well of the soul

The darkness of the anger and pain (line 4) are very deep. The home (5) is metaphorically compared to the heart because we experience strong feelings in both places. The poet seeks light within the darkness of the soul (6) and tries hard to understand the shadows, shapes and textures within the soul (7-9). This metaphor shows the difficulty of finding the way in dark, unknown territory, feeling and guessing in hopes of finding the truth of the soul. Literal feelings and images show the discovery of self. The truth of who we are is finally discovered deep within us (10-12).
The birth of the poem

Lines 13 to 16 emphasise the birth of the poem through the use of strong, rough images. Our truth is in the meat of our lives (13), suggesting that the meaning of life comes from deep and difficult experiences. The theme is developed in the shocking details of childbirth (14, 15) by recalling the image of blood suggested in the first stanza. The birth of the child is compared to the birth of the poem. These both require pain, but lead to the joy of creating life. The poem is born and the truth is shown (16).
Silence and darkness in the mine

Silence (line 17) emphasises the mystery and depth of the poem, metaphorically compared to the silent depth of human life itself. We must be brave and strong to seek the poem that is deep within us (18-19). New images and metaphors appear concerning the mining of valuable stones. “Pit” (19) refers to the core of the person, and also to a deep hole where diamonds are mined. The difficult labour of a miner carrying his heavy load to the surface (20) is compared with the labour of discovering poetry within the soul and bringing it up to the conscious mind.
Sculpture of the poem

The concluding couplet makes the poem more concrete by describing poetry as sculpture. The stone removed from the mine is transformed to become a piece of paper on which the poet can write. The words of the “sculpture” can then last forever. The work of the pen (3) is raised to a more solid form of art (21 and 22).
The womb of creation

Read through the poem several times to discover its full metaphorical power. Look within yourself to discover the symbols and images of your own poetry.

Send your poetry questions to poet tree:

c/o Learning Post
Editorial Building
Bangkok Post Building
136 Na Ranong
Klongtoey 10110, Bangkok
Tom Radzienda is an instructor in poetry and culture at Srinakharinwirot University. Teachers can contact him to present poetry recitals and poetry writing workshops at their respective universities and schools

You can send your poem by email. Mark the subject line: Poet Tree and send to this address: learningpost@bangkokpost.co.th

Visit Tom's poetry column at http://www.bangkokpost.com/poetry

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