My Nostalgia Analysis

Poetry is pretentious. Or at least, that is the myth. Poetry in the twenty first century has not been a main platform for people – it seems that it is either too much work or impossible to decode. To me, poetry was always daunting. I was afraid that my emotions would overflow into a writer’s work, so I would not be able to understand the true intention. There was not a specific incident that made me feel this way; it was always just a part of my mentality.
The following collection of poems is my way of deciphering my own emotions: specifically, they highlight my nostalgia. Each of the poems are a letter to a memory – a part of my life that, in my mind, is better than my current situation. Whether these memories were in fact better is questionable, …show more content…
The first poem “Fairytale” is a letter to my past self. Looking back, I was quite arrogant, but I loved it. I wanted to express how fake and temporary that part of my life was. I followed it with a similar poem, “Lost”, which is a testament to my blind attraction. At the time, I was obsessed with a boy who never gave me any attention. Then comes “Pokemon” – a poem about my nostalgia in general. It reflects my need to store memories, even the most mundane or the most painful. “93 Million Miles”, my next poem, most accurately describes my yearn for the past. I originally wrote this poem about a friend whom I mistreated. Then, after he deserts me, I am left begging for his return. This poem is not a letter to him but rather a letter to the memory of him that I have kept. “Pink” is a two-part prose poem that connects by image: a color. It is a letter to a drastic change in …show more content…
At the start of the semester, I was so drawn to this idea that I had to write about feelings that everyone understood. For some reason, I was under the impression that relatable poetry was automatically “good” poetry. Yet, when I wrote poetry that everyone immediately understood, I was not happy with it. My poems that were relatable were dull or cliché. That is why I loved writing “To My Grandmother”. Not once do I mention my grandmother in the piece and the class was confused about the title. However, the poem felt more real to me because it was personal. The title, even if it meant nothing to someone else, was mine. It was as though the meaning was between me and the poem. “Good” poetry does not have to be likable. I, as a poet, cannot demand empathy from the reader. In fact, I do not think anyone should write solely for the purpose of pleasing a reader. Towards the end of the semester, as I sat down to write poetry, I was so immersed in my words, that I forgot that I had to submit them. I did not care if anyone liked them – I cared if they served their purpose to me and that is why I chose these seven poems. These letters are my raw emotions on paper. Whether the reader understands them or not, the words are