Which is more important?

[ellajam]

This question is at the heart of where I am in my writing right now, and the answer is, of course, both.

My motto was "Ain't no poetry police here". I posted on Last line, First line threads, haiku and tanka threads, and personal poetry threads where poems in response were welcomed. They are great for getting into the habit of daily writing, and for inspiration, an idea to work with.

I once posted on someone's thread who commented that it seemed my poem came out fully formed in one shot. I laughed and responded that they all do. He asked why I didn't have enough respect for them to edit and I honestly answered "Nah, they're just my mind babble". But that comment seems to have stuck with me.

Eventually I could see the difference between my trash and my treasures so I looked for a place to work on them. No place seemed like anything I wanted to be a part of until I came here. They all seemed to come down one side of the heart or structure question, and I like the view from the fence.

I know that the heart of the poem is all that matters, but I am learning to convey that heart more effectively. I am developing quite a convoluted method of editing, mucking it all up then coming back to the original hopefully with some improvements.

I write for fun, and right now it's fun to take what in fact I hold tightly and make it walk the tightrope. It usually comes out alive, though not always.