Poetic Encouragement For Eric Cockrell Poem by Terence George Craddock

Poets can
and do write
beautiful poems.
What poets should write
is defined often
by critics

who often
seldom write
or cannot write.
Poets can define
or give insights
into their poetry.

Some poetry
will reflect
image contempory
society a poet
lives within,
images of ordinary

life through to traumatic
events defining povital moments
in cultures and global issues,

will not
be topics
for all poets,

but serious themes will creep
into portfolio work of especially
great and profilic poets.

Poets we love
and admire the best
touch on universal themes,
even simple everyday topics
can have amazing insights,
perspective in the vision

and words
of poets.
Great poets
know the themes
breathe the themes
of great novels,

even great novels
can be put into poems,
great poems achieve
profound implications.
I have written poems,
deliberately ugly,

reflecting ugly themes,
without beauty rhyme, written
to stick in the reader's

throat, critics
will proclaim
such poems

are badly
written, but
some themes

demand beauty
and bestow peace;
some sad themes
demand to be addressed,
stick in your throat,
raise questions

to eventually be addressed by society?
Some poets will be social
will have appreciative followings,
other poets like to be isolated
wise will write without
interaction from readers.

Poets write for themselves,
an audience or no one,
for today or for a future generation;
most prolific poets write
because they must,
compulsion they have no choice;

many ordinary people
who during their lives
write a personal poem

or a few poems
because they must
are compelled too.

Poems might
be written
because of love,

loss or hosts of theme emotive reasons;
the important point is poems are written.
Good or bad does not impact upon the need
to write; writing for others is a failing if
we do not write ourselves, good poets
will write faithful to themselves and theme

dictates style emotive content;
many poems cannot appeal to all;
people are different, styles personalities
likes and dislikes are individual personal,
but writing true to heartfelt or artistic
vision is essential in at least some

of our poetic work. Poets will not
always stop to read others
or their friends, to write write write
must sometimes come first
for poems to be written. Write
Eric and know that many are silent

who read
understand,
we stop to read;

when we can
and we write
because

we have no choice
and inexplicably sometimes
something important

to say.
Write
well
when
it is
time

to write
well Eric,
enjoy
leaving
the critics
far behind,

because poets,
writers, singers,
musicians, painters,
artists; create
because a story
a tale must

be written
created played
heard

somewhere
some day.
Write my brother

and enjoy the words,
we never like all we write,
but most of what we write

should be written.
A few poems must be written;
it is not necessary
to stop to explain the words.
Write Eric my brother
and know you enrich our world.


Copyright © Terence George Craddock