Today saw the real beginning of the process that I usually refer to as polishing. (Please click the title to see the last relevant post.) What I mean by this is the fine tinkering with words and grammar to shape the finished poem to the exact way I want it. I like to call it polishing as it really is a finishing procedure. My poem has been created in the way I want it but before it is truly complete it must shine.
I like to read and re read the poem, tedious as this can become. What I am looking for is the way the poem scans and the ease with which it is read. The rhythm is checked and the stresses in the end rhymes. What I want is to make the poem almost glide on the reader's tongue. I really like poems that I've read almost without noticing the words. A well polished poem is easy to read if not easy to understand. Understanding is something the reader can do later. First they have to read.
I find myself adding plurals or replacing single words, moving words around and tinkering with the grammar. It's strange how small changes have a slow mutating effect that can really bring a poem out of it's shell. I'm fascinated by this process, much the same as I am fascinated to see metal becoming brighter and brighter as it is buffed. As I said I really only began today and this is a process that can take weeks. I don't have all that much time though as my deadline is the end of the year - best get polishing !
Peace Dave.
