Poetry is about movement. There is movement from the title to the body, from word to word, line to line, and stanza to stanza. The movement, the path of a poem can dictate its meaning - or if there's any meaning to it at all.
A poem is not and should not be about the author's emotional state - instead, it rests entirely on the emotions evoked in the reader. As a poetry professor of mine once said, poetry today has far too much "I" and not enough art. The ego of the poet can often get in the way, making language in their poems too personal. This is not to say that poetry should not be intimate - and I'm certainly not hating on first-person poetry - but a truly personal poem must be approached with caution.
There are only three more things I have to say at the time (although I'm sure that over the next few days I'll be constantly hitting myself for leaving so much out), and the first is that poetry - and I'm speaking of mine in particular, but I can think of quite a few poets this applies to - has a creatively destructive element. That is to say, the linguistic violence contained within the act that is the poem is also productive. It produces thoughts, emotions, inspiration, and catharsis. As such, poetry is an exploration, both for the poet and the reader. It is about widening the space of the location in which language can perform.
Finally, I'll close with a thought on form from one of my favorite poets, Frank O'Hara. He had this to say: "As for measure and other technical apparatus, that's just common sense: if you're going to buy a pair of pants you want them to be tight enough so everyone will want to go to bed with you."
To be continued.
-the ambassador
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