How I Wrote That

I’ve been wanting to write a post like this for about a year, but I never knew how to present it. Until now. I’m going to pull back the curtain that covers my mind and reveal to you how I write certain posts. Specifically, my poems.

I don’t know if this is going to be a new blogging series, or just a one off. We’ll see how it goes.

Poetry, for me, is a way to say things that I don’t really want to say, but need to. It gives me the chance to talk in metaphors and riddles and codes, so I know what I’m saying while my readers might not.

Each poem has more details in all of them than you could probably imagine. I don’t write a poem unless it means something to me. I have to feel it when I write it.

So for this post, I’m going to tell you how I wrote one of my recent poems, Show.

Essentially, I’m going to break down the meaning of it, line by line, and let you in on things that were going through my mind as I wrote it. I hope this is interesting.

Let’s start.

For starters, the title (Show) is a double meaning. Not only does it mean putting on a performance, but it’s also like, “Hey, I’ll show you what it’s like.” And that leads into the overall meaning of the poem which is: living in someone else’s shoes.

I didn’t think of the title of the poem until I was almost done writing it. That happens most of the time. The idea for the poem came when the following words randomly popped into my head, one day.

“They don’t know what it feels like, how could they possibly know?”

There have been many times in my life where I see someone go through something, or experience certain emotions, and I’m not able to relate to them. I can’t see things from their perspective.

And then, it could be years later, I find myself in their shoes – living through what they lived through. I’m finally able to see what they saw, and feel how they felt.

Alright, let’s break down each line. Each stanza has nine lines. I didn’t plan that ahead of time. I didn’t even know if I’d break the poem up into stanzas. Every stylistic decision I make is while I’m writing it.

Your shoes don’t fit quite like I thought they would
Now that I’m in your shoes, it’s not what I expected.
your backpack weighs me down more than I knew it could
The things you carry with you are heavier than I thought.
I gag at your clothes
Your style is not my own; I don’t want to be in your clothes, living your life, anymore.
I blow my nose
I just needed something that rhymed with “clothes”, to set up my next line.
the theatre fills up rows upon rows
This gives the idea that there are always people watching and judging us. Also, “rows” rhymes with “nose”.
and I wish I could take this off
I wish I could shed myself of this costume (someone else’s clothes), so I don’t have to feel how they feel.
burn it to shreds without hearing a scoff
This furthers my point with another rhyme.
they don’t know what it feels like
how could they possibly know
And there are the two lines that sparked this poem. They appear in every stanza.

so take your clothes – here
I don’t want them anywhere near
This is the idea that I thought the grass was greener, but it wasn’t, and I don’t want it anymore. I want to return it.
and take your shoes
Not wanting to live in someone else’s shoes.
they did not answer my clues
“Clues” in the sense that my perception was wrong.
it was like walking on screws
It was harder than I thought.
one size fits all
This line relates back to “clothes” and the idea that we are all the same, but entirely different.
only works in the fall
I needed something that rhymed with “all”. Also, what do people wear in the fall? Sweaters/hoodies. That’s as close to “one size fits all” as you can get. I thought it was clever.
they don’t know what it feels like
how could they possibly know
Reiterate the theme.

This next stanza is a change of perspective. It’s me looking inward.

is today the day it all catches up
This line came about because, at the time of this poem, I wasn’t getting many hours of sleep – my own fault. Exhaustion was building up and this line is me wondering if that was the day the exhaustion would take over.
the hours lost were hours gained
I lost hours during the day, but gained hours during the night. Make sense?
carry the one and nothing remained
This could be a metaphor for anything. But really, I just wanted to make a math joke and needed something that rhymed with “gained”.
wake up with muscles strained
I was waking up with my arms asleep and my back sore.
chess pieces were David Blaine’d
In this instance, “chess pieces” are people. David Blaine does magic. Put them together, and you have people disappearing. This goes back to the packed theatre in stanza one, but now I don’t want them there. I don’t want them to see.
because when you appear to disappear
David Blaine does illusions. If I appear to disappear, the audience has nothing to see.
only one side is overcome with fear
The audience would be overcome with fear.
but they don’t know what it feels like
how could they possibly know
I added “but” to this because it worked with the flow of this stanza better.

I feel like people are still going to be confused at this point, even after I’ve explained three stanzas. Oh well. It makes perfect sense to me.

so tie your shoes tight if they don’t fit right
Goes back to the idea of putting myself in someone else’s shoes and being uncomfortable.
turn the world upside down
Change your perspective.
catch your smile become a frown
What if happiness all of a sudden turned to sadness?
would you look at the sad clown
Sad clowns still make jokes…
words lie and faces lie beneath
…but what they say may not be how they feel. “Faces lie beneath” is the person we are, beneath our facade – just like clowns are someone else beneath their mask.
the sun deserves to see teeth
We should smile more.
but they don’t know what it feels like
how could they possibly know
Reiterate the theme, but don’t end the poem with it. Oh, and “they” refers to the “crowd” – people judging us.
the theatre reeks of popcorn
There will always be people who watch what you do. The fact that they brought popcorn, means they aren’t leaving any time soon. So get used to a crowd always watching. 
time for another show.
As I said before, this alludes to putting on a performance to convince others you’re something you’re not. And once you do that and someone lives life in your shoes, they will see it – you will “show” that part of you to them.

Did that make any sense?

This poem took about two hours to write, but when I was writing it, it felt like ten minutes. Every poem feels that way for me. I get so into it and as complicated as this poem might appear, the words came out quite effortlessly.

I always know that I’ve written a meaningful poem if I read it afterwards and feel like crying, or actually cry. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Sometimes a tear or seventeen will flow as I’m writing it.

In a strange way that makes me feel better. It lets me know that these are words and thoughts I no longer need to carry with me.

Soooo much cheese in this post. Should’ve brought crackers.

Alright, that’s it. Did you guys like this? Should I do more “How I Wrote That” posts? (Doesn’t mean I will). Let me know.