I have a disability. I was aware of this shortcoming of mine but chose to keep it a secret. I believed that it was my little secret and nobody would notice it. Also, this disability never posed any threat or an embarrassment to me or to those around me. I was happy in my cocoon or was it that I had brushed this issue under the carpet and it was safe!But since the last fortnight, I was inadvertently forced to accept this disability of mine.As you are aware since April 1st, I am participating in this A to Z Challenge along with a lot of fellow bloggers. This everyday blogging challenge has opened our blogs to a whole new set of bloggers which is a fabulous experience. Apart from reading and observing the various thoughts and views on varied topics, one is exposed to the different styles of expressions too. So, in a day we come across bloggers who specialize in writing fiction, some share travelogues, some write about personal experiences, then there are haikus, picture posts, some tips and tricks, some learnings and sermons and a lot of poetry.
While, it is fun to read so many forms of expressions in a day, there is one form which baffles me to no end.
When I see the words like “The clear blue sky over the sea”. My grey cells do not have the ability to interpret the above sentence to something which talks about hope, possibilities, creativity, peace, freedom of expression or even melancholy! Nope, my brain understands it as “The clear blue sky over the sea”. And when my brain interprets X as X and not X= A+B-D, the problem starts.
Yes, you guessed it right, the disability that I have is that I can’t understand poems. There I said it!
In this new blogging network of mine there are a lot of poets. Seeing their work of art, painting beautiful imagery with the words of their hearts and soul, I am filled with awe and admiration.
Since, Confessions are the in-things, now-a-days, I would like to confess …
#1.My new blogging friends whom I have had the pleasure of knowing and interacting because of this challenge are very dear to me. If somebody finds time to read what I have shared and leave their footprints on my blog through a meaningful comment, it means a lot to me. To show my appreciation for their time and feedback on my blog, visiting their blog and interacting with them is the least I can do. It is similar to picking up your phone to speak when somebody calls you.
#2. So, while other forms of expressions make for a breezy read, the poems are a bit tough for me to comprehend. The reason you know, my brain interprets X as X and not… I may finish reading a regular blog post in 2-3 minutes, but the time that I spend on any poetry blog is anywhere between 15 minutes to full ONE day! I read the poems again and again, sometimes after a break, sometimes with a cup of tea for inspiration or enlightenment to understand the magic the poets have created with their few words. Most of the times, the enlightenment dawns and I am able to understand a bit of what the poet wanted to express and sometimes it eludes me completely!
So, all you poets, how many of my grey cells were burned to understand your intricate and complex constructions with words… well, go figure it out yourself!
35 Responses
Same woe!
I take a lot of time to interpret poetry and sometimes I actually don’t get anything at all.
Glad to know that I am not alone 😀
Haha you are so cute. At least you make an effort to understand poetry! I don’t have your patience to do so. I only like poems that rhyme.
~ D is for Deecoded ~
Ditto, Dee! A poem isn’t a poem if it doesn’t rhyme! 😀
My poems are only three lines long, so its a lot easier and takes less time 😀
PhenoMenon
http://capturedalive.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/personality-atozchallenge/
Ducking for cover here …Shilpa, you are hereby released from the obligation to read my so called poetry! 😉 And just to make you feel better, sometimes even my mom doesn’t understand me. 😉
That was such a fun post!
🙂
Cheers,L
Hi Shilpa A confession, is it? Wrong!! Even your prose is so sweet, it sounds like poetry!!
Quite a confession!! Glad you are still ready to give a full ONE day to peotry. I never seeom to have that much of patience. 🙂
Cheers!
Hey Shilpa,do not fret ,I completely agree with Usha Menon that you have the capability to paint fluid pictures through your prose ,much like poetry.
Shilpa, we are on the same page when it comes to poetry. I don’t understand and feel dumb when people go ‘Wow’ wah wah! and some people churn out poetry in many lines by seeing a prose. I am sure there are many who would have made poetry out of your(this) post.
That said, you rock with ideas, lady….already at P.. i am thoroughly enjoying the post feast at your space.
Aawww this is such an honest post 🙂 I am so glad I am able to connect with you …so what was that again 2+2 = infinity *Winks* and runs quickly 😉
haha its ok. Mny have the problem .. I havent written a poem for this challenge but am an avid POET . Poetry is my strength
Still I fail understanding some . Hence ur feeling is quite natural
I love poetry. I suck at writing it but I love reading it ..
I love poetry and sometimes I too have trouble trying to comprehend what the poet intended to say. You are definitely not alone!
LOL! Hi-five, Shilpa! Because, I too cannot interpret poetry….I guess I have too practical a mind and not at all a creative one so I too just think of X as X! Too bad since we do have some very talented poets in our group!
Candid confession I must Say!!! This genre is quite different & subjective too 🙂
Don’t worry about it, Shilpa. Poetry is like drinking a concentrated version of a beverage. It knocks you out completely, and you might not even know what hit you. But gradually as you keep reading it, your poetry ‘muscle’ gets strengthened and you begin to get the hang of it. There will come a day when you will start writing poetry yourself. How’s that?
my my…ur already upto P in the challenge! that must feel really good, to be able to challenge urself like this and do it with panache!
poetry is….ahem..well…ah…actually my cup of tea…so thank u for reading mine….!!
Aww.. that is such a cute disability 😛
Maybe, all the reading will brush off and one day, finally, it will dawn upon you 🙂
Bhavya
Just Another Blog
While agreeing with Shilpa and Sharmila, let me tell you that the best way to approach poetry is not to look for meaning…Just read it, let it flow over you and speak to you in whatever way it does. The beauty of poetry is that, like an artwork, it is open to interpretation by the reader/viewer.
SO well said Corinne – That is the beauty of art – it is so personal – you can mold it the way you want to:)
Too cute Shilpa. Even I don’t understand poetry much. When I pick up a book and find poetry, I put it back; not even attempting to understand.
I agree with Corinne, for poetry and art are similar. I did enjoy poetry in school and college, and some poems were so good, that I could write pages about them. Now of course with no compulsion to read poetry, I have lost interest in that. However, if I come across a good one I do appreciate it very much. I think with me, it was like I had to read and give critical appreciation of a particular poem/ poems in my college days, then i was drowned in poetry all the time, but when there is on need to drown myself in poetry, I have lost the interest.
Ah! Shilpa! I was so waiting for this post. 😀
You are such a cute and honest and awesome lady.
Enjoyed your post thoroughly(as always)
And this is incredible to know that you actually spend so much of time to understand a poem rather than giving it a pass. Hats off you you for that.
Thank God i did not pen much poem till now during this challenge. 😛 But my today’s P post is again a poem. 😀
and i totally agree t what Corrine said… the beauty of Art & Literature is that they are free to interpretations. 🙂
I have the same disability. That’s why in high school I didn’t like Shakespeare. We spent hours trying to understand and interpret the words and meaning but maybe in the end, Shakespeare was saying the horse is a horse is a horse, of course!
I do not always understand poems either. I try and try and read them over and over, but sometimes I just don’t get them. I always get excited when I do understand a poem!
LOL and here I thought you loved my poems. But, I must admit that I am not a top poetry writer cos’ there are others who write superbly. Be happy with your disability….it is bliss actually.
I find it tough to understand poetry too, but not all. There are some which I understand easily and some which I take time and some I don’t understand at all. I guess you master the art once you keep reading.
Hello, Shilpa! LoL, don’t worry, lots of people don’t understand poetry. Luckily I do understand poetry! I enjoy reading it before a writing session, and I like to write poetry for fun, just to challenge my creativity.
I don’t understand math. I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, but that’s the extent of my math skills. Everything else is beyond my comprehension! I’m also really unskilled at reading road maps. I have a very poor sense of direction!
Happy A to Z-ing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
LOL…same here girl. You may say, but Latha you write poems…I don’t know if they are really called poems…they are just my feelings..read poems just as any other lines..Even, I don’t know the inner meanings..I just read them as they are plain prose lines 🙂
So honest! Somehow I have always enjoyed reading poems as it gives a bit of food for thought to my mind 😉
Ha ha ha! Well, for me its like a split personality. Sometimes the poem ‘reveals’ itself to me in a jiffy, and at other times I have to really break my head to figure out 🙂
frankly,I dont understand poetry.
Koshish Jaari Hai
Woah! How, in the world, can “The clear blue sky over the sea” translate to “hope, possibilities, creativity, peace, freedom of expression or even melancholy”? I’m with you here, Shilpa… X is X… NOT A+B-D! But no matter how many hours or days or months or even years I spend on trying to “read between the lines” of a poem, I will never get there! If the poet wants to talk about hope and possibilities and creativity etc., then s/he should talk about them. Saying one thing, and meaning something very different… that’s clearly a lack of proper communication skills! My personal views, at the time of writing this comment! 😛 I’ll “rant” more about this on my blog when I’m in one of my “irritating” moods! 😉