5 People That Inspire Me To Write Poems (And Have Given My Mind Word-gasms)

Ever experienced reading a quote or a phrase in a book or a whole stanza and just reacted like,

or,

I have always been vocal with my love for books and words in general. I mentioned my undying love for words perfectly woven to create lush ideas and trigger deep emotions. And I might have aspired to finish writing a book (which I’ve achieved back in high school) but I’ve never thought of myself as writing poetry. When I was in a sophomore in high school, I was appointed to create a nutrition poem which will be our class’s entry for the contest. Along with one of my friends, we winged it and just made every last word of the line rhyme.

It was fun but it was nowhere poetic or meaningful. And the shocking part is…we didn’t place. No really, it was not shocking at all.

But ever since that “!(____)You, You(____)Me” poem and creating that Writing/Creativity blog, I’ve been considering writing poems. And I’ve had dozens of hundreds (of thousands) of people who aspired and inspired me to do so but here are the top 5.

  1. Christopher Poindexter

    For those who doesn’t know who Christopher Poindexter is, click here. I’ve seen snippets of his poems in Facebook via Word Porn, Mind Porn and Great Minds. Of all the many typewriter poetry images I’ve seen of Poindexter, I have forgotten what the first one was. But I always know a Poindexter-fingerprinted poem when I see one (and it’s not just through the typewriter format of the images). His poems are always filled with the right dosages of poignancy and hope and, most of all, love.
  2. Pablo Neruda
    I learned about Pablo Neruda through reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and I loved him ever since. His works have always been so straightforward in conveying their messages. And yet (despite or maybe because of their straightforwardness) they have the capability to throw you off against waves of emotions the way No Face was rocking helplessly against the waves created by the train.
  3. Charles Bukowski

    Charles Bukowski is ruthless and gritty and romantically fragile. I love him and his works. I haven’t read any of his novels and novellas but I’ve read tons of his poems and that one above, The Laughing Heart, is my favorite.
  4. Adam Young (a.k.a Owl City)

    You might argue with me on this and I’ll be happy to entertain people who disagree. There’s just something about the way Adam Young creates lyrics (which I’ve quoted dozens of times in Twitter and Facebook). It’s funny how the first time I heard Fireflies, I thought the lyrics was lame. Not anymore. However, the charm of his lyrics certainly would be lacking without his mind-blowingly light-hearted musical arrangements.
  5. Oscar Wilde

    His witty prose and way with words certainly appealed many people. But what I ove most about Oscar Wilde is how he could pull off rhyming poetry without looking lame. (Because heck if I could do that.)

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