Ever write a poem in which you have no idea of the meaning later on?

Question

I write poems when im stressed out in the head, and while it delivers a moments rest, a couple of days later i'll read what i wrote im like what the f u c k? i have no idea what i was saying. But right after my pen spilled out all my thoughts i feel this great relief, and even an aha moment at times. anyone ever done this?

Answer 1

I can relate to the "aha" moment. I have been writing a poem or a story, with no idea where it was headed, and then the last line or last few words would cause everything to mesh together, and I would say, "Gee, did I just do that? How did I manage to come up with that?" I think that is your "muse" at work. Your subconscious knows what it is doing, but your conscious mind does not. As far as the other experience; when in an unstressed moment, you have no idea what your were saying under stress, I would say toss it out. If you have no idea what you were saying, then I doubt that anyone else would.

Answer 2

The physical act of writing down your thoughts releases pent-up emotion. That's why therapists and other mental health professionals encourage writing as a way to vent emotion, especially strong emotion, in a constructive way. I also find, personally, that writing out something that is bothering me often provides clarity to my thinking about a problem and creates an "ah-ha" moment. You probably don't understand what you wrote because you were concentrating on the emotion that was coming out when you wrote rather than on constructing something that made sense from a literary standpoint. This is an incredibly healthy habit of yours and one you should keep.

Answer 3

No real offense and I notice it seems to be common; but I wonder why so many use expletives; often the young; and especially publically?

To directly address the Q however; you're perfectly normal.

So much of what and how we think is spontaneous, and often easily forgotten or dismissed. The expressions are often born of negativity and can be theraputic, to the point where we no longer really need to keep them; or even recall why we felt them.

To ramble with a pen is certainly no more damaging than the context of an old quote.

"Better to be THOUGHT a fool, than to open ones mouth and PROVE it."

Steven Wolf