Hello my friends (and enemies) LETTER TO THE POET,

I wanted to share some ideas that all poets should love, guys will really love, and girls... well they will be girls, ya know (and I love each and every one of you).

There are 4 critical, absolutely critical things to consider when writing a poem I learned 3 of these tactics from years of picking up women. I have applied this technique to poem theory, and it is yours because I care, and you matter. (And they work)

I want to start off with the most critical of all 4. This would be the one where you already picked up the girl, but want some romance (must keep it clean for the youth); mood setting. When you start your poem off, you have absolutely no idea what frame of mind your reader is in. 1. Set the mood, or “tone”of your poem. If I come up on a poem that begins by yelling at me a bunch of “He did this, and she did that”, I'm not going to get much “romance” from the poem, because the mood did not ease me into the feeling. Win me over first, then sock it to me.

I want to give an example. Your writing a poem on how beautiful your car is, and how your girlfriend actually brings out the exciting colors of your car. Use adjectives, and try to skip the verbs on the first line or two. Describe the opening scene as a picture. I will try:

“Great skies over ocean blue

So calm, so hue”

I never mentioned a car, my girl, or any colors. I am “setting the mood”.

The reason I describe these 4 critical steps akin to picking up and romancing a girl, is that you want to pick up your reader of your poetry in the same manner. You have a poem sitting right in front of the eyes of a potential reader. He just woke up, or got off work, had a fight with the significant other, landed a new job, or just lost a job. You only have a few seconds to capture her attention, and start feeding on emotion. I will go deeper into my reasoning at some future date.

So we have the mood set. She's willing and ready (to read your poem, get your mind out of the gutter).

Before we got this far, we actually had to write the poem. It would be a sad situation to have her willing and ready to read a great poem, only to have the night go limp. Some preparation will be the key.

I walk into a bar (organic juice bar). There I lay my eyes on the beauty, and I am the beast. Keep in mind that a rejection is simply a girl that is not ready to say “yes”, yet. If she says no, come back at her on a different day (As for poetry, today might not be the best day to have a good write. Set the poem aside, and come back to it in a day or two if this is the case).

You MUST strike conversation with this girl. You cannot be shy, or wait around to “make your move”. Make your move in a polite manner, and leave the door open to talk later. She may want to watch you, and see who you are.

Here are the other 3 critical step in getting that elusive conversation going:

2. Ask a question. Girls love questions. Ask her something about herself. Don't waste your time asking her what is the capital of China. She only cares about one thing, and it ain't you. Consider asking a question in your poem, something the reader may like.

3. Controversy. It is a risky bet to stir up conversation with a stranger by stirring up a controversy right from the start. Unless... (yes it's all about her), you say something like, “I see you went with the gold necklace, but I am sure silver is the color that will bring out your eyes best.” This is best used to critique a poem, but can also fit well in a poem itself.

4. Errors. I hate to see errors in a poem, but nothing brings about conversation quicker, than to read a poem with an error. And guess what? You are going to realize that a woman cannot help but correct a man who has made an error. This is my favorite way to pick up a girl. All girls from all over the world share this trait. It works everywhere. In the grocery line, you may say, “It's a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, eh?” As corny as this sounds, she is already focusing on the fact that it is Wednesday, and her genealogy requires her to set you straight. And when she does, thank her. Let her know how you appreciate her letting you know. Tell her how you went to the bank and filled out the wrong date, Yada yada yada...

Your poem can include all, some, or one of these tactics to get the “romance” going with your reader. I hope someone will share their own ideas of “romancing” the reader, and seducing him/her into the poem. The best thing about life is sharing what we learn. So much is focused on the poem these days, and we often forget the reader.

Peace Out, EinStud

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