In contrast to certain forms of poetry where thoughts and feelings flow out in whichever order and manner they choose (more in a "streams of consciousness" kind of way), I generally do have definite meanings and messages that I try to convey in my poetry in a very deliberate way. I do spend a good deal of time crafting my writing. As far as art in general is concerned, I don't share the philosophy that what comes out first and in a completely spontaneous manner is somehow intrinsically better than a work than is painstakingly brooded over and finetuned over and over again. Naturally, I do set my own limits as to when enough is enough. I do draw the line when it's obvious that compulsive obsession is setting in. What it boils down to is that all artists have their own balance. My balance just leans more towards compulsive perfectionism.
Why do I write poetry? Mainly, I guess, to purge myself of certain feelings or anxieties. I find it very therapeutic to exorcise troublesome thoughts through poetry. I also write poetry, though, to communicate and connect with other people (in other words, with an audience in mind). If I didn't care at all about communicating a message to an audience, I wouldn't go to all the effort to publish my poetry here on the Web. I hope that what I offer is a unique perspective on issues that is deserving of being shared with the wider population. After all, poetry and all other forms of creative expression, when shared with society, tend to enrich the human experience for everybody.
In more recent years, I began writing more prose, and I find myself enjoying the freedom of expression that prose offers. I find prose to be more visually oriented, whereas poetry to me is more musical in nature. With poetry, one is concentrating on "wrapping" the image or message in a musical structure which has its own sense of rhythm, timing, phrasing and melody. With prose, one can focus more on the raw image or emotion one wants to convey, without worrying about the constraints and limitations of rhyme and phrasing. To be honest though, I still like the effects of both techniques.
I write what I feel at any given moment. And what I feel is likely to change - sometimes quite radically - as time passes. I make no apologies, therefore, for any sentiment ever expressed, or ever to be expressed. All my creative works are a reflection of the journey of my mind, from its most immature and naive emotions to its deepest insights. Poetry is a means for me to purge my darkest feelings, and also to revel in my most whimsical and nonsensical imaginings.
So, while you may form the opinion from reading my poetry that my life is manic and unsteady, it is in fact the release of my extremes that leaves balance in my life. In capturing my troubled thoughts, there's hope that some may relate - at one moment or another - and so be left at ease, somewhat, that those feelings they feel are felt by more than merely them. Perhaps this may be you.