The artist

 

Ignore your audience and your readers,
they are not the ones who write your poetry,
and it’s only their own business if they read it,
nothing that should cause you any worries,
since the only thing that matters
is that what you’re writing is alive.
Its contents is another secondary matter,
if it is alive it will remain alive,
and that is all that should be of concern to you,
so do not be afraid of being inconvenient
or provocative or even controversial and insulting,
just forget about all possible reactions
and that you at all might have an audience,
they will stand whatever and survive
and always be there and return
for good or worse regardless in what mood;
and if you are ignored or lynched
it’s of no consequence to what you write
which should be written and stay written
for the life and honesty you gave it.
It should even be of no concern of yours
if all you write ends up in silence in the bottom drawer
to stay hidden there concealed from every reader
never to be read or noticed.
If there is true life in it
it will appear in its own right
sooner or later in the limelight of attention,
since what has once been created
and endowed with life will follow its own laws
and fate which is beyond you and all your control,
if only it has true life of its own.
That is the privilege and hell of the creative power:
you have no control of it, once you have let it out.

 

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ionicus

By all means ‘Ignore your audience and your readers,
they are not the ones who write your poetry’ but it seems a paradox to then say ‘critique and comments welcome.’
I am only being facetious, Aurelio. You made a valid point and I accept that a poem can be alive and meaningful in its own right whether it is totally ignored or dismissed by the readers.
Best wishes.

sweetwater

Your opening line tells us to ignore our audience and readers, if one wishes to ignore an audience or a reader why would they then be showing the work in the first place? It seems strange to expect an audience to read or listen to a piece of work, only to make it clear to them afterwards you have no further interest in them or their own thoughts, kind of “I’m reading this to you, listen if you want but just don’t bother me with your comments I’m not interested in what you have to say to me” I can… Read more »

sweetwater

Ah, I understand what your poem is saying now, and the reason for your limited time on here. Thank you for explaining. Sue.