(1) Write a "confessional" poem, and
(2) Write a "riddle" poem.
Well, Robert, you really opened up the flood gates this time. There is a lot of good confessional poetry in the world, but so much more of it is... well, BAD. I wish that would-be poets would stop believing that any heartfelt feeling written down on paper is, by definition, a "poem". If takes a lot of skill to express one's emotions in poetry without sounding maudlin. So that was the basis of my poem today - not a confessional poem, but one about confessional poetry. I probably exaggerated my feelings on the subject for comic effect, and I've been guilty of an occasional confessional poem myself, so please take my poem in the humorous spirit intended. As far as the "riddle" goes, the opening three lines have a bit of a riddle flavor, but the poem digresses from there. Also, the "acrostic" poem is a kind of riddle (more like a puzzle, I suppose).
An Acrostic Complaint
Could it be a place where one meets a priest?
Or how a contrite criminal feels?
Neither of these, in this case, at least,
For we talk of the poets' reveal:
Everything their poor psyches could hold,
Souls full of anguish and dread,
Suffering, whining, it's all getting old -
I wish they would just go to bed.
O poets, please get over lost love,
Neither Plath nor Sexton you'll be,
And stop writing poems - O, Lord above! -
Like a diary without any key.
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