Writing poetry is visibly easy for some people while incalculably teeth-gritting for others. While some embrace its beauty, its challenge, and its form/structure, others avoid it like the proverbial plague, opting instead to choose dental pain or an ingrown nail instead of reading, let alone writing poetry. I find it incredibly beautiful and in some ways like a word puzzle or game.
Writing poetry in a language other than ones first (or native language) can be either a more welcome challenge or a bigger pain depending on what side of the poetry fence you are on. I have recently experimented with writing poems in spanish and offer a few here. I have taken some creative as well as linguistic license. Hope you enjoy them.
The first is in the Haiku style.
Flores
Flores del campo
muestran colores fuertes
me dan belleza
Another deals with our crazy word using some rhyme.
El Mundo Loco
Dos y dos son tres
un año es un mes
el rojo es cafe
anarquía es la ley
Mi playa es mi casa
Mi primo es my prima
Mi perra es mi gata
y mi uva es mi pera
Abajo es arriba
y la izquierda la derecha.
Puede ver un poco
El mundo mio loco?
Finally, a third poem, mushy by most standards in free verse.
Mi Estrella
Tu eres la estrella del dia, de la noche y
la luz de mi vida.
Su luz es el faro de mi camino
la belleza de la oscuridad alrededor el mundo.
No te vayas, no me sales
Eres mis ojos y sobre todo
Eres la guarda de mi corazon
y la escencia de mi amor.
El sol me traiga el calor
y el día lleno de la luz
Sin embargo espero la noche
y solamente para su resplandor y su amor.
Hope you enjoyed them. Try your hand at poems in another language. With a little patience and practice you might be able to create something that is very meaningful to you.
Brent Rourk
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Aha! You’ve hit the proverbial nail: People HATE poetry. Could be various reasons. But my personal thought is from their experience of having the TECHNIQUES of poetry hammered in their heads, they never were given the opportunity to ENJOY the beauty of the language regardless of which language. Could also be that many see poetry as a less than macho type of writing. Okay, so check out Charles Bukowski and see if his crude, yet ordinary writing is macho enough for you. If I could write/speak Spanish I’d give it a try. Thanks for give poetry a good rap for a change!