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Serious Poetry

Serious poetry, somber and grim;
Dashing, descriptive, with narrative flair.
Formal and versified;
Rhythmic and dignified;
Romance and rhetoric; ribald and prim.
Taking you places while curled in your chair.

Serious poetry, rhyming each line.
Sonnets, rondeaus, villanelles, triolets.
Explosive hand-grenades;
Sharp-witted razor blades.
Dangerous, edgy, designed to malign;
Rapturous beauty, inspiring praise.

Serious poetry, heaven and hell,
Painted with strokes of a feather-nibbed pen.
Shakespeare and Tennyson,
Dante and Dickinson,
Laugh-out-loud funny or tearful farewell
So good you can’t wait to read them again.

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If at First . . .

I cannot figure out which would be worse:
To churn out banal, kitschy, Hallmark verse;
Leave dirty limericks on a bathroom wall;
Or never try to write a poem at all.

But this I know: First poems may be sad,
But second efforts likely aren’t as bad.
For every poet who’s a true go-getter
Knows writing each new poem makes them better.

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To Write a Poem

A poem is an easy thing to write.
You type a word and then another just
To see where it might go. Sometimes it’s trite
With pointless words erased like blackboard dust.

But sometimes words combine to tell a story
Or express a sentiment in ways
That touch the heart or capture a priori
Truth within a simple well-turned phrase.

For words—like music—have the power to “soothe
A savage Breast, to soften Rocks, (to) bend
A knotted Oak,” to whisper love, or smooth
Some troubled sea with which we must contend.

Of all the poems sitting on my shelves
The easiest and best ones wrote themselves.

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Note: The quote above is from William Congreve (1670-1729)

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Druthers

Sometimes I like to write a joke that rhymes
Instead of blank-verse tales of ancient wars
And gods whose fictive-mythic epic times
Elicit from most modern readers, snores.

Perhaps a few might feign to tolerate
A haiku or a Wordsworth daffodil.
And some eclectic few might even rate
A sonnet by the Bard of Avon, “Brill!”

But offer up a limerick or riddle
And folks will gladly go the extra mile.
For just as with an old-time country fiddle,
Near anyone with ears to hear will smile.

It’s not that one is better than the others,
But smiles win out when people have their druthers.

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James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and three collections of poetry including Mostly Sonnets, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in The Lyric, Poetry Salzburg (Austria) Review, California Quarterly, Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online, Better than Starbucks, Dwell Time, Light, Deronda Review, The Road Not Taken, Fevers of the Mind, Sparks of Calliope, Dancing Poetry, WestWard Quarterly, Society of Classical Poets, and The Chained Muse. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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16 Responses

  2. Roy E. Peterson

    James, your four wonderful poems capture the essence of what a poet feels when writing poetry and reading the poetry of others. Indeed, “a true go-getter” continues to search for that elusive perfect poem that conveys the poet’s mood and substance whether it be jocular or pensive.

    Reply
  3. Satyananda Sarangi

    Greetings, James Sir!

    Poems written with exquisite skills as always. This is why the SCP is a class apart.

    Best wishes.

    Reply
  4. Cheryl Corey

    I enjoyed all. In the first one, however, the correct spelling is Dickinson, if it’s Emily that you’re referring to.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Cheryl, Write ewe are! If he is awake and cognizant enough to take notice of my glaring error, I humbly beseech our dear Mike-monitor to make the requisite correction!

      Reply
  5. Norma Pain

    I loved all four of these poems James, and the quote by William Congreve rings true for me: Of all the poems sitting on my shelves, The easiest and best ones wrote themselves. Thank you for an enjoyable read.

    Reply
  7. Mary Gardner

    James, thank you for these poems. They prove your line, “So good you can’t wait to read them again.”

    Reply
  9. David Watt

    Thanks, James, for four well written pieces. I haven’t seen the word druthers for a long time. It’s good to see it used to great effect

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      David, Poems are often inspired by the seemingly random appearance of a short phrase or a single word. “Druthers” just popped into my head and the poem followed as if the word challenged me like a personal prompt. I’m glad you liked the result!

      Reply
  10. Cynthia Erlandson

    I really like the interesting form you invented for “Serious Poetry” — the rhyme scheme, the dactylic meter, and the technique of shortening two of the lines in each verse to dimeter.

    Reply
  11. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    I particularly enjoy poems on poetry which is why these have made me smile. I especially like ‘Serious Poetry’ – it’s beautiful sing-song form has it romping along with poetic aplomb. I also like and relate to the closing couplet of ‘To Write a Poem’. Why is this, I wonder?

    Reply
  12. Adam Sedia

    One thing I normally hate is art forms about themselves (e.g. movies about the movie industry, operas about composers, novels about writers), but I found this set of poems an exception. I found them clever as well as accurate. They’d make a good preface to a didactic essay. (My favorite is “If at First …”)

    Reply
  13. Anna J. Arredondo

    James,

    I enjoyed your eloquent inventory of all that a poem can be in “Serious Poetry.” And I found I could readily relate to the final couplets of each of the other three poems. Thank you for sharing these!

    Reply
  14. Joe Kidd

    A favorite collection on this site.
    Poetry should be as much fun to read
    as it is to write.
    It should have equal meaning to both parties.
    Success, Mr. Tweedie!

    Reply

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