The infamous lines: “He found me crying / He crew too / We both crode” brought a metaphorical tear to my eye. I was struck by how this quote, though absurd, highlighted the state of modern poetry. The revival of this wondrous “poem” begged the question: is this what modern poetry has come to? Is all modern poetry “bad?” Will the classics be a reference to an age of good poetry, or is there more inside the rabbit hole?
My Opinion on Poetry
Poetry had never crossed my mind until a friend and I saw one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Bocchi the Rock. Bocchi the Rock follows the story of Bocchi, an introverted guitarist and songwriter who wants to be a part of a famous band, but her shy nature makes it difficult to connect with others. The main character’s self-discovery journey through songwriting sparked my own curiosity about the power of words. I wanted to understand how someone could write symbolically and still convey meaning, which led me to poetry. However, I found that TikTok was filled with modern poetry where the enter key can magically make a poem “sad” or “angsty.”
Modern Poetry that’s Bad
Take this example from an infamous poet, Rupi Kaur:
“to be
soft
is
to be
powerful”
It’s simple and to the point, delivering the idea that “a little is a lot.” It’s a good inspirational quote; however, it feels like something you’d find at Hobby Lobby rather than a fully revised and published poem. Kaur has a section from another poem that had potential:
the thing about having
an alcoholic parent
is an alcoholic parent
does not exist
Alcohol addiction and child neglect are serious problems. On one hand, the poem’s message is harder to follow because the grammar is slightly off, specifically with the missing word “that.” It feels like the message is lost, making it more confusing. On another hand, Kaur might’ve purposefully omitted “that” to convey a sense of immediacy. Sometimes, less formal language is intentional to create something new.
Aliza Grace, the one who popularized “we both crode,” began dedicating her work to mocking poets like Kaur. The infamous sentence was actually from a tweet back in 2020, which was revived in September 2024 as a joke. She has a poem that I giggle at every time I read it:
hurts me 217 times
maybe i should give them a second chance
Good Modern Poetry
For every negative, there are positives. Ocean Vuong is a Vietnamese man whose family is deeply traumatized by the Vietnam War, which is defined through his book Night Sky with Exit Wounds. Vuong’s poems make you feel like you’re living through the hells of war. What makes his work so powerful is how it combines raw emotion with strong language. It shows that modern poetry can deeply connect with readers. Kelli Russel Agodon’s poems explore themes of identity, the natural world, and more. Her poem “Torn (Old Fabric)” from Dialogues with Rising Tides gives visuals that make you feel the passage of time and sadness. There are thousands of other contemporary poets that I didn’t mention but I have equal respect for.
Ah, the Classics
Edgar Allan Poe was an intriguing, classic figure whose personal turmoil influenced his stories. My personal favorite is “The Raven,” a poem that describes how a grieving man believes his dead wife is still alive. Because every stanza ends in “more”–first “evermore” and later “nevermore”–The man’s mental state is able to be interpreted as either stable or mad. Poe’s experiences with longing allowed him to express his emotions in a way that resonates deeply. Poe’s life was really messed up: he was born into poverty, became an orphan, suffered severe depression, and lost everyone he cared about. Between a suffering man and a modern trend-hopper, the quality of a poem will truly differ.
Where There is Poetry, There is Song
Remember my mention of Bocchi, the songwriter? Poetry and songwriting are more closely related than most realize. There are millions of artists who have songs with amazing lyrics, like Mitski. Mitski’s lyrics usually embrace themes of longing, heartbreak, and self-discovery that resonate just as deeply as a traditional poem. A few of her songs include: “First-Love, Late Spring,” “Remember my Name,” and “My Love, Mine All Mine.” In “My Love, Mine all Mine,” Mitski wrote:
My baby here on Earth
Showed me what my heart was worth
So, when it comes to be my turn
Could you shine it down here for her?
‘Cause my love is mine, all mine
I love mine, mine, mine
Nothing in the world belongs to me
But my love, mine, all mine
I cried a little the first time I listened to this. I interpret it as a mother who was deeply struggling with living, but her child showed her that there was more to life. The mother struggled with self-acceptance, but she learned to appreciate her own worth. Mitski’s songs have the same depth and room to interpret as any poem would. If her songs were classified officially as poems, then I’d say she’s one of the best poets in the world.
Two Opinions Meet (“Bad Poetry” is/isn’t Bad)
There are many ways to explain what good poetry is. I believe that good poetry is heartfelt and authentic. It doesn’t rely on the trendiness, superficial aesthetics of sadness, but instead offers something real and meaningful. Straightforward language is fine–it’s better since we don’t speak in Old English anymore–but it could sometimes sound flat. Why are there bad songs? Usually due to “bad lyrics”, lyrics that sound silly, dumb, or make no sense. The same goes for poems. Some try to be as hard to interpret as possible, forgetting that poetry should be understood. Along with that, line breaks are abused. While line breaks are good for breaking up chunks of information, overusing them doesn’t add any extra meaning to a poem.
I
should
not
speak like
this.
At the same time, poems may be written by younger people, people with less experience, or people who express themselves in their own unique way that others might not understand. Shakespeare created the word “upstairs.” It might’ve been seen as silly, but we use it everyday now. With modern poetry, what we might see as odd now might reveal a new trend or perspective. Finally, poems online are usually designed for quick consumption: what’s trendy, sad, and gets the most views. It makes it harder to appreciate more thoughtful, fashioned poetry. It gives a bad look to modern poets who put serious effort into their work.
I also had the pleasure of speaking with Kelli Russel Agodon, an American contemporary poet. While she agreed that some modern poetry can sometimes feel rushed, a poem’s quality can also depend on other aspects.
First, Agodon explained that it depends on what poetry is read. When a poem is published in print, it’s usually much more crafted than digital works on social media. The fast-paced nature of social media can affect the depth and craft of poetry. She noted that it’s still possible to create meaningful work in that space.
Agodon writes poetry because it makes herself and others feel less alone. Like other good poets, her work has a personal meaning behind it–not quick consumption. She thinks that “much of poetry is trying to reach out to people and sometimes the craft is overlooked” but “more on social media than in books which have been cleaned up by an editor” (Agodon, 2024).
I asked Agodon what she believed made a bad poet or what makes bad poetry, and here’s what she said:
“I try to stay away from the bad/good labels when it comes to art because who’s to say? Vincent van Gogh never sold a lot of paintings while he was alive and he’s one of the most famous painters today…Harold Bloom called Sylvia Plath ‘an absurdly bad and hysterical verse writer.’”
“From a craft aspect, I believe the strongest poetry is well-revised, less abstract, and focused on details and imagery.”
Conclusion
Overall, art is subjective. The quality will vary depending on where you read poetry and the amount of experience a poet has. There is no truly “bad” poetry, but there are ones that don’t match the emotional meaning behind passionate poems. Modern poetry doesn’t have to be the same as classics, but the differences are stark. Social media has influenced and promoted quick, trendy poems that feel superficial and give the poetry of hard-working artists an embarrassing reputation. Short, catchy lines don’t truly reflect the effort and passion that traditional poetry has. Nevertheless, modern poetry isn’t bad. There’s room for quick experimental works and deeply crafted ones. Poetry can be in the form of mysterious sonnets or in the lively tunes of a song on the radio. Even if some poems hurt me 217 times, they still deserve a second chance.
Works Cited:
Bani-chan. Digital, 18 Sept. 2021, x.com/bossmonsterbani/status/1439331883209433089/photo/1.
Kaur, Rupi. Milk and Honey. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2014.
Mitski. “My Love Mine All Mine.” Dead Oceans, 2023. Spotify app. X (Formerly Twitter), 2024, x.com/bbybinkk/status/1282560067074654208?lang=en. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.
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