Tags
first person, heart, heart poem, life, love, melancholy, NaPoWriMo, poem, POV, second person, third person
I write every day anyway, you know? So why is writing a poem a day so challenging? Is it the discipline aspect rearing its creativity-gnarling havoc? I cannot figure it out, but the truth is, poetry does not come “on demand” for me too easily.
At times, I admit, I get on a roll and chuck ’em out fairly consistent. Then I hit dry spells. I hit one a few days ago, wrote a poem in five minutes after 11pm, and got quite a bit of positive feedback on it. So much for critiquing the muse…
Today is a good day. Today is a great day for differing points of view – literally. Yes, I’ve decided to write a poem off a writing prompt. The prompt is to write a poem on one subject, three ways. I’ll modify that to one subject, three different POV’s (points of view). I will use first person, second person, and third person. Sounds like fun…
First Point of View
Emptiness surrounds my soul from the inside out
Filling, but not filling, as emptiness holds nothing
Yet hollow corpses of victories to be won
Feel heavy as the heart overrun by space.
I flee to writing, children, hope
My inner cadence risen from ashes to plodding beats
Fears tickle and trickle through cavern emotions
Distraction from nothing my impossible task.
I look to my breath, my songs, my loves,
Replete in their truth, their promise, their comfort
I know the trek to smiles and to health
Lie quiet in my heart saying this too shall pass…
Second Point of View
Emptiness surrounds your soul from the inside out
Filling, but not filling, as emptiness holds nothing
Yet hollow corpses of victories to be won
Feel heavy as the heart overrun by space.
You flee to writing, children, hope
Your inner cadence risen from ashes to plodding beats
Fears tickle and trickle through cavern emotions
Distraction from nothing your impossible task.
You look to your breath, your songs, your loves,
Replete in their truth, their promise, their comfort
You know the trek to smiles and to health
Lie quiet in your heart saying this too shall pass…
Third Point of View
Emptiness surrounds his soul from the inside out
Filling, but not filling, as emptiness holds nothing
Yet hollow corpses of victories to be won
Feel heavy as the heart overrun by space.
He flees to writing, children, hope
His inner cadence risen from ashes to plodding beats
Fears tickle and trickle through cavern emotions
Distraction from nothing his impossible task.
He looks to his breath, his songs, his loves,
Replete in their truth, their promise, their comfort
He knows the trek to smiles and to health
Lie quiet in his heart, saying this too shall pass…
So, which POV do you like? None? Get outta here! Seriously, if you have a preference, please note it below. It only took me until 8pm to get this done. I started this morning.
No, I did not sit here for hours trying to write. I went off doing other tasks. This just came to me when I read the prompt. This writing off the cuff thing is quite…invigorating!
Poetry in Black and White 
As I read the three POV, my spirit resonated to the Third Person. I believe this is because the first person POV seemed on the edge of victimhood, while the second seemed accusatory. The third, to me, was a soft story from a writer who would like to reach into the situation and help.
Isn’t POV cool? First person usually has more zip. It’s personal. It grabs the reader by the throat (if written well) and says, “walk in my shoes.” Second person is amazing. Second person POV is called the “accusatory” voice, just as you alluded. Wise people through out history have used second person when they wanted to place readers on the defensive. Even novice writers do this instinctively, but usually they end up mixing POV’s and it becomes apparent they are manipulating (or at least attempting to…). Third person is a more distant view with, as you noted, softer edges. That’s not to say you can’t write third person with crisp, hard edges because it is done all the time. It’s just that the tone is more voyeuristic in nature – less personal than first and second person. I love doing the three POV exercise. I should actually do it more often…