a poem I wrote for my boyfriend + writing process/tips

Devotion in Fragments

Oceanic eyes enchanting as a stormy sea

I long to bathe in them

drawn helplessly toward their undertow 

golden curls my fingers ache to caress

soft rings spun from silk thread 

halos above gentle eyes

big hands strong enough to protect

soft enough to embrace

they instinctively reach out to help 

kindness engraved into the lines of your palms

with a big heart

beating inside a soft chest

sculpted perfectly to hold my body

your hands find me so easily

as if they were made to touch me

made to memorize the curves of my stomach and breasts

I find myself captivated by the smallest details

The tilt of your smile

the warmth in your gaze

the gentleness in your touch

the quiet architecture of your beauty

I initially felt so silly writing this poem because I didn't want it to sound corny, but I think I managed to keep it "lovely dovey" without it sounding juvenile. I haven't written serious poetry in a minute, maybe since junior year, but I wanted to take a stab at it again because it's always been something I loved. I had actually annotated some poems in a book of love poems for my boyfriend a while back, but I thought this would be so special because it was something I created from scratch for specifically for him. I definitely want to write poetry more often and hopefully this is the first of many I post about on here!

How to find inspiration?

 I honestly had no idea what I wanted to write about specifically when I sat down to write this but I found that reflecting and asking myself questions gave me a list of things I could cover in my poem. 

For example:

• What does his presence feel like?
• Are there any tiny things he does that I love?
• What's the first thing I notice about him when he walks into a room?
• What does being loved by him feel like?
• Are there symbols or imagery I associate him with?
• What does our relationship feel like?
• How does he make me feel?

The writing process

 Initially I found myself constructing large and overly descriptive lines. Although they were well written they felt more like excerpts from a book rather than lines in a poem. I made myself go through and take the core essence of the things I was writing but shorten it to comfortably fit within a stanza. I think when you shorten the amount of words you use in a poem it makes every line and word choice feel more deliberate and certain. Anyone can write a paragraph to convey a message, but I think it takes skill to use a fraction of the words and still successfully get a message across. And this may sound counter intuitive but take out filler words. Make the transitions between phrases blunt and the grammar feel a little "off".  Also leave lines as incomplete sentences. It just makes it more poetic? I'm sure there's a professional explanation for this but it's something I notice when I read or write poetry.

 For example:

Instead of

• "You have big hands that are strong enough to protect, yet soft enough to embrace"

Try putting

• "big hands strong enough to protect (new line) soft enough to embrace"

Editing is going to be your best friend. I have pages upon pages of discarded lines, phrases I liked, rough outlines with things crossed out, arrows connecting new lines into old drafts, and so much more. It is okay to change things or move them around. I felt like my writing was becoming a mess and had to step away from my notebook for an afternoon to let the poem rest and my mind to generate some new ideas. Similar to art, coming back with fresh eyes is always a huge help. 

Like I had mentioned I didn't really have a big overarching theme or specific niche I wanted to focus on in my poem. You honestly don't always need to have stanzas or lines connect together in a larger way, but for my poem I wanted it to somehow come together in a clean package by the end. As I wrote I found myself centering on my boyfriend's features. His eyes, hair, hands, heart, chest, etc. This came together and helped me form the final concept for my poem as well as a title that ties into it. I emphasized how I love the small details that contribute to his beauty. The "quiet" fragments of his "architecture". Which connects to the final lines of the poem as well as the title "Devotion in Fragments". Oftentimes, the poem naturally comes together by the end, even if you feel unsure of what you're writing. 

Presentation

Because we are long distance, I wanted my boyfriend to have a physical copy of his poem. This is where you can get creative with presentation. You can hand write the poem out, but I chose to print a small copy of it out because I have terrible hand writing. I then glued it to a thicker piece of card stock so it would survive being mailed and gave it a collage feel. His favorite color is purple so I used it as the main color. I also wanted the decorations to feel kinda rustic and vintage because there's something so classic about writing love poems for your significant other.

Thanks to Colin for sending me a picture of the poem :)

Wow I honestly didn't think I'd have this much to say about such a short poem. I initially was going to simply post the poem but it's fun getting to explain the creative process behind projects. This also sort of turned into a loose tutorial so I hope this helps anyone who wants to write poetry or a poem specifically for a loved one but maybe doesn't know how to start. Ultimately there are no rules to poetry or self expression. Just have fun.  Happy writing!