Around age 15, frustrated that I wasn't rivaling Keats and Shelley with my teenage poems, I destroyed everything that I had written, then had to go about recreating the poems as best I could.
Good that you knew the poems by heart and later reproduced them. Most people cannot. In this lovely collection, Sharon and Autumn Lament (the first version and the revision) appealed to me the most. Teenage is a phase rife with ideas and ablaze with emotions. I'm glad you channeled your energy the right way.
Shamik, I'm glad you liked "Sharon" (a poem I only recently resurrected) and "Autumn Lament." I think most people can remember poems, if they read them enough, since most people remember vast numbers of song lyrics.
True, but after such a sweeping gap, one can hardly remember even his own words verbatim. But yes, with enough recitations, one can, even during his retirement days.
I've gotten rid of a few poems out of embarassment. But many were just lost or misplaced. Occasionally an old piece turns up. Sometimes it is a pleasant surprise, other times not so pleasant. I remember some early erotica, but for awhile I preserved privacy by writing in Latin.
I have poems I will never show anyone, because they're simply not good enough. But it is nice to find a poem that I wrote in my early teens and think it showed promise.
Good that you knew the poems by heart and later reproduced them. Most people cannot. In this lovely collection, Sharon and Autumn Lament (the first version and the revision) appealed to me the most. Teenage is a phase rife with ideas and ablaze with emotions. I'm glad you channeled your energy the right way.
Shamik, I'm glad you liked "Sharon" (a poem I only recently resurrected) and "Autumn Lament." I think most people can remember poems, if they read them enough, since most people remember vast numbers of song lyrics.
True, but after such a sweeping gap, one can hardly remember even his own words verbatim. But yes, with enough recitations, one can, even during his retirement days.
Perhaps one listens to popular songs more than his own poems?
I've gotten rid of a few poems out of embarassment. But many were just lost or misplaced. Occasionally an old piece turns up. Sometimes it is a pleasant surprise, other times not so pleasant. I remember some early erotica, but for awhile I preserved privacy by writing in Latin.
I have poems I will never show anyone, because they're simply not good enough. But it is nice to find a poem that I wrote in my early teens and think it showed promise.