Poetry and Emotions

By Eva Marie Cagley

I have often wrote my best poetry when I am experiencing some kind of emotions whether it be happy, sad, angry, elated or just plain love struck. That’s when my best poetry is born. My muse is running in high gear and the words just pour out like raindrops. To capture those moments I find that I can’t put my pen down and come back later. I have to see the piece through. Usually my poem will come out longer during these times and some rhyme some don’t. That is one reason I love free verse so much. I do not have to worry about the form just the content. It leaves me spell bound quite often when I go back and read it later and I can’t help but to ask myself, “did I write that?” Yes I did.
Emotional poetry is also very therapeutic. Poetry can be a powerful healing tool. Just like journaling. I find that when I write with emotions the reader can feel where I’m at or see what I see. I love to read emotion based poetry as well. It just tugs at my heart at times and I can relate some experience of my own with it. Seems like my soul has a yearning at times to be heard. And my spirit wants to fly like the eagles.
Sometimes my poem is born out of just a word or thought and as I begin to write it just blossoms into something beautiful and transpiring. It allows the reader to feel with me what I am feeling and may even spark something within them to write a poem. Some of my poetry has been written with tears in my eyes and others joy in my heart. All I know is that I must write during those times.
If I set my pen down before I am finished and try to go back to it, I lose the momentum and it becomes an entirely different poem of two poems within one. After writing with an emotion I do little editing on the piece as I don’t want to lose the feeling expressed. Sometimes I have to do a few sentence restructuring and grammar and spelling checks, but nothing major that would alter the mood that my muse has transpired.
Images are so important for the reader to visualize your poem as if taking a picture but it is equally important to get that feeling across. The more I write the easier the words flow into a piece of art on its own. It’s a good way also if you’re a beginner to write with your emotions in gear. Many a great love poem has been written and love songs with emotions flaring.

While I am not a poet that can just spew out poem after poem day in and out I am a poet that can write when the muse awakens and find the words just form magically of their own accord. I rarely use a picture to write a poem about. I use experiences in life and emotions to paint my pictures like the sunrise would be painted on canvas. I have found it is useless to set at my computer 24 hours a day and try to write. I must get out and live life in order to write about it. Just as when I write an article for a blog. I must carry through with the thought before it is lost forever.
Anger has always been an easy emotion to write about. Writing is a safe way to express it and let it out so you can move on and let it go. This way I don’t stay stuck in a rut. I find that I like diversity in my poetry and try to write on a range of poetry such as love, nature and spirituality. That way I don’t get bored with writing and my readers don’t get bored reading. Least I hope they don’t. Here are a couple of my poems that were written free verse with the flow of emotions.
Remember to have fun with your craft and let those emotions flow!

Eva Marie Cagley, was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, where she spent most of her time working with teenagers in a group home and at a Juvenile Detention Center as a counsellor. Working with teenagers gave her great joy, having had none of her own. She comes from a large family of nine children having six brothers and two sisters. She says her writing reflects who she is. Her beliefs, perspectives, trials and tribulations, hope and despair, dreams of all her lives’ journey.