I've gone back to writing poetry lately -- the urge tends to strike when I've got any sort of strong feelings, so I've decided I may as well run with it.

Truth is, I'm rather defiant; I like to write and read poetry with meanings that are clear. Multi-layered metaphors and rampant allusions are all well and good for artistic merit, but they don't have much personal appeal to me.

My favorite forms are tanka (5-7-5-7-7 syllables), sonnets (bloody hard to write), and limericks. I like constrained forms; they make me use all my vocabulary, and I have to actually work at them to make them poetic.

I've even got a favorite ancient Japanese poet: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro.

And yes, I do say a lot about poetry without ever posting any here. I don't think highly of my own work. Although, I'm tempted to post some of the silly limericks I've written, or my haiku grocery list.

I'm sure some poets are grave-spinning over the haiku grocery list. Sorry....