I’ve tried getting into poetry before, but I think I haven found the right spot in my life for it? Usually I read when I have at least half an hour to spare - on my commute, before bed, a rainy afternoon alone, etc. But I can’t sit down, take a book of poems and then read one after another for 30 minutes, right?
It feels like I should give them more space. But then I never just feel like picking up the book, read a poem and then go on with something else.
Do you have a dedicated time, like reading one poem each day before bed? Do you sit down with a book of poetry, read one and then just think about it for a while until you’re ready for the next?
Typically, when encountered with a poem I read through the whole thing once and comprehend none of it. Then I reread it again, slower this time, and still comprehend none of it.
Then I start going line-by-line, reading each section over and over again until I give up on understanding that section, getting more and more frustrated with each line.
Then I go to the Internet to help me translate the words from poetry into English and that still doesn’t help because I can see no correlation between the explanations that people are giving and the actual words contained within the poem.
And then I stop trying and angrily swear off poetry as a failed art form for the umpteenth time.