Sexual arousal and poetry

It's almost Valentine's Day and Poet Guy invites you to consider love, or its more common Literotica equivalent—sexual arousal—as a topic for discussion. Being male, he knows that his own arousal can be tripped quite easily with almost no explicit sexual overture by, he hesitates to say, almost any woman. Yes, he is most definitely easy.

But he also notes that most poems here at Literotica that attempt to evoke or discuss sexual arousal or sexual activity do not work very well. They often end up being clichéd, or even simply silly:Why is it so (ahem) hard to write poems about sex? Do you have a favorite poem about sex and/or arousal, either by a Literotica poet or by an external poet that you'd like to cite as an example? Do you have any thoughts on why it is difficult to write sexy poems about sex (or thoughts on why you think it is easy, or at least not impossibly difficult)?

Feel free to invoke that Love thing as well, if appropriate.

Poet Guy is off to read some porn. Happy Valentine's Day, all.

PoetGuy said:

Why is it so (ahem) hard to write poems about sex?

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Because self-satisfied I'm-so-happy-now-we-two-are-one and fucking eachother senseless poems can be so cloying when well written, downright hilarious when they are badly written, while lovepoems involving courtship, unrequited love, or the bitterest regret are a much meatier subject. Is there any better subject matter for poetry than desire unsatisfied, confounded or denied?

one from my personal archieves.

the Lebanese waitress

with substantial thighs and ample breasts
and dense fronds of crow black hair
she slow hip waltzes while she serves
and smiles a perfect smile
by the time I’m served baklava
I’m hopelessly in love

where better to be than here
in this aquarium, this pearl
this submarine dream, drowning
in undulating chords of Arab music
this mermaid, pushing through the currents
with the elegance of dance
her weighty chest, threatening
to float loose from her shirt
underwater sky clouds

my liquid brain
a golden yolk of barmy thought
floats me on a slow boat across an inland sea
clasped in olive skinned limbs
breasts that cushion me
a tongue that feeds me
above, the moon a midnight sun

outside, the city lights dance on the water
a shoal of silver fish break the surface
passers by wear rainbow masks
one can dream ones life away this way
isolating the poetry from the prose
hearing music in common sound
longing for the impossible
if only for one night but a night
that promises to last forever

Poet Guy expresses exactly why it is so hard to write good erotic poetry--the language is usually so obvious. I have written a few erotic poems in my time here, but can't put pen to paper unless I can find some new aspect of sex to explore that doesn't end up being trains into tunnels. The closest I think I have gotten to it is the following, which specifically has no sex in it.

Clothes

The marks of her clothes
slowly fade from her body
as I watch and she falls
solemnly asleep.
There’s been no sex
for she was tired,
and in the clammy night
there are no sheets,
so unfettered limbs
reveal their weals,
the blueprint of
her public form.

Is it erotic poetry? I have no idea, but it's erotic to me

As for better poets, certainly Donne spoke to me of the fun that could be had with bodies and words, and i have always had a soft spot for Charles Cotton's "An Epitaph on M.H."--though that perhaps is perversely erotic!

PoetGuy said:

...

But he also notes that most poems here at Literotica that attempt to evoke or discuss sexual arousal or sexual activity do not work very well. They often end up being clichéd, or even simply silly ...

Why is it so (ahem) hard to write poems about sex? Do you have a favorite poem about sex and/or arousal, either by a Literotica poet or by an external poet that you'd like to cite as an example? Do you have any thoughts on why it is difficult to write sexy poems about sex (or thoughts on why you think it is easy, or at least not impossibly difficult)?

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so much being put out there as erotica isn't - it's poor attempts at porn. but at least they're putting something out there. the reason it gets cliché and dull is because so much simply addresses the mechanics; even when it tries to describe the emotional tones there's so little stretching (in most cases).

no matter how unique an experience the poet might be trying to project, too many don't get the fact that these sorts of feelings are not unique but a sort of communal experience. by not reaching for different language, different pov's, by simply trying to describe the same scenes over and over, they manage to bore the reader. a bored reader will not be getting a sexual fix from reading them.

and then there're the typos ok, if a poem's written brilliantly, then typos can be forgiven and don't distract from the body of the write. in one of the run of the mill you're so hard/you make my pussy so wet/fuck my brains out/oh i'm cumming so hard type of writes, typos are sadly common and irritate in an exaggerated fashion.

there's very little i've read, poetry wise, that i've found sexually arousing it a straightforward way - i think i get the hots for a writer's brain, their originality and sensuality, when i read something that addresses the senses. stuff that recreates moods. stuff that might only hint at open sexuality or only ever address it in metaphors. i'm not nearly as well-read as some of our scholarly types here, but i find great sensuality in the writings of Pablo Neruda. for porn-done-well poetry, blue poetry, i think Verlaine's hard to beat (from my far from exhaustive knowledge).

do i think writing it is easy? no. i don't. considering how it's such a common experience it is very hard to find that new, interesting angle. i rarely ever attempt to write anything that might be considered erotic, and think i failed in any attempts i did make.

chipbutty said:

no matter how unique an experience the poet might be trying to project, too many don't get the fact that these sorts of feelings are not unique but a sort of communal experience.

do i think writing it is easy? no. i don't. considering how it's such a common experience it is very hard to find that new, interesting angle. i rarely ever attempt to write anything that might be considered erotic, and think i failed in any attempts i did make.

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an affair in steam

sex at its basic level, is mechanical
passive as a machine pressing out widgets
this is what lovers do to fulfil their contract
share a bed, exchange body fluids and lie

they stop wanting to know when they stop caring
what turns each other’s wheels, round about the time
of the demise in the age of steam, before which
the enthusiastic amateur reigned

building up a passion into a head of steam
when pistons whooshed and cylinders sighed
when safety valves flipped
and love blistered on a hot plate

now they grind it out with dull efficiency
they can calculate to the second
when their cams twist and their gears kick out
it is more predictable with each accumulated lie

they will withdraw into the engine shed of their dreams
to drive engines they would have driven
if only they had taken a different line, then they’ll wake
and stoke up the mechanical tyranny of their affair

bogusagain said:

an affair in steam

sex at its basic level, is mechanical
passive as a machine pressing out widgets
this is what lovers do to fulfil their contract
share a bed, exchange body fluids and lie

they stop wanting to know when they stop caring
what turns each other’s wheels, round about the time
of the demise in the age of steam, before which
the enthusiastic amateur reigned

building up a passion into a head of steam
when pistons whooshed and cylinders sighed
when safety valves flipped
and love blistered on a hot plate

now they grind it out with dull efficiency
they can calculate to the second
when their cams twist and their gears kick out
it is more predictable with each accumulated lie

they will withdraw into the engine shed of their dreams
to drive engines they would have driven
if only they had taken a different line, then they’ll wake
and stoke up the mechanical tyranny of their affair

Click to expand...

needs a little lubrication
one of the gears is grinding

bogusagain said:

an affair in steam

sex at its basic level, is mechanical
passive as a machine pressing out widgets
this is what lovers do to fulfil their contract
share a bed, exchange body fluids and lie

they stop wanting to know when they stop caring
what turns each other’s wheels, round about the time
of the demise in the age of steam, before which
the enthusiastic amateur reigned

building up a passion into a head of steam
when pistons whooshed and cylinders sighed
when safety valves flipped
and love blistered on a hot plate

now they grind it out with dull efficiency
they can calculate to the second
when their cams twist and their gears kick out
it is more predictable with each accumulated lie

they will withdraw into the engine shed of their dreams
to drive engines they would have driven
if only they had taken a different line, then they’ll wake
and stoke up the mechanical tyranny of their affair

Click to expand...

this yours, bogus? it's certainly well-written and i enjoy the extended metaphor. it shows glimpses of the passion, that head of steam, but overall the residual mood is one of almost wistful acceptance , a cynical (or realistic?) view of relationships. is it a sexy, arousing poem? not for me. but it is a poem i feel enriched to have read. ty!



ok, i went for a looksee - seems it is yours alright

chipbutty said:

this yours, bogus? it's certainly well-written and i enjoy the extended metaphor. it shows glimpses of the passion, that head of steam, but overall the residual mood is one of almost wistful acceptance , a cynical (or realistic?) view of relationships. is it a sexy, arousing poem? not for me. but it is a poem i feel enriched to have read. ty!



ok, i went for a looksee - seems it is yours alright

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I wrote it some time ago on one of the Lit threads and then tidied it up and archieved it in my poetry file.

Yes, it's a little cynical. You reminded me of it when you mentioned so many sexual poems being interested in nothing more than mechanics.

I'm glad you liked it.

The First Metaphor

at great risk of destroying what little respect I have left

alone
stone
bone
some mutated monkey
reaches up with an
opposable foot
bone
Thus the first metaphor was born
and then some cute chimp
the one without so much hair on her ass
pipes in
drive it home
bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
The first poem was born bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home,
and the chimps chime in bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home,

bönè bönè bönè - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, boñe boñe boñe - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bône bône bône - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bðne bðne bðne - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
begat
the stone age
the age of bronze
the age of brass
the age of tin
back to brass (polished)
and the colossus of rhodes said ""you can kiss my shiny metal ass1"

edited
1) Stolen form Bender a robot

my respect for you has grown wid' ther bone pome.

chipbutty said:

my respect for you has grown wid' ther bone pome.

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it's metric
plus I threw some foreign bones in for that extra je nais se quoi
and with a footnote!!!

twelveoone said:

at great risk of destroying what little respect I have left

alone
stone
bone
some mutated monkey
reaches up with an
opposable foot
bone
Thus the first metaphor was born
and then some cute chimp
the one without so much hair on her ass
pipes in
drive it home
bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
The first poem was born bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home,
and the chimps chime in bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home,

bönè bönè bönè - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, boñe boñe boñe - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bône bône bône - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
bðne bðne bðne - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home, bone bone bone - drive it home
begat
the stone age
the age of bronze
the age of brass
the age of tin
back to brass (polished)
and the colossus of rhodes said ""you can kiss my shiny metal ass1"

edited
1) Stolen form Bender a robot

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I've totally lost respect for you.

This was written by Disposa Girl. She's in France now.

Gimme that sex thing
Serve it up hot
Shove it up my O ring
Sanctify my G spot

Jerk my legs up high
Bang me up rough
Suck me till I'm bone dry
Slip me your good stuff

Sexy sap steamy soul
Sucky soft sticky sweet
Jimmy jam jelly roll
Sexsmellicious scented heat

Turn me over baby
Take it from behind
Slide it, ride it, deep inside it
Mesmerize and cauterize it
Jack it till you pulverize this
groovy movey grind

Poet Guy is pleased that bogusagain has responded to this thread, as he feels that bogusagain is one of the few poets lurking about Literotica that has the self-confidence to write an honest, straightforward poem about sex, however sexy or unsexy actual intercourse might be. The samples posted confirm Poet Guy's opinion on this and he thanks bogusagain for posting them.

A poet who quite reminds Poet Guy of bogusagain is the late Canadian poet, Irving Layton, who often wrote about sex in an unsentimental, more or less graphic, way. He wrote bluff, unsentimental poems that often were about non-romantic sexual relationships. Check this out:The comments about "desire unsatisfied, confounded, or denied" make perfect sense, but shouldn't poets be able to write competently about what after all is one of the most salient aspects of adult life?

Yes, that was a rhetorical question.

Seeing a slip of bra strap in an erotic poem is more arousing to me. Using my imagination is sexy. "Throbbing cocks" and "wet pussies" are something crude that stomped all over a poem. It's like having a garment malfunction and a tit flopping out. It's out there, all you can do is stare.

PoetGuy said:

Poet Guy is pleased that bogusagain has responded to this thread, as he feels that bogusagain is one of the few poets lurking about Literotica that has the self-confidence to write an honest, straightforward poem about sex, however sexy or unsexy actual intercourse might be. The samples posted confirm Poet Guy's opinion on this and he thanks bogusagain for posting them.

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mine was generated on a machine, aren't machines the new sex

These two little ditties are from a series I wrote about workingclas teenage romance (or not) when growing up in a mining town.


I
taking the long way home
past the railway cutting
I would tell her I loved her
if only for the day
life was like that
a discount store
you took what was in stock
pleased to leave with change

II


Saturdaynight at the disco
little bit of dancing
little bit of fumbling
round the back against the market stalls
with a girl who didn't understand
love could be more than groping hands

the lonely walk home
through empty streets
through the bleak barren psychology
of cold post coital depression
past the pit yard
where Monday beckoned

twelveoone said:

it's metric
plus I threw some foreign bones in for that extra je nais se quoi
and with a footnote!!!

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i sawd!

a bone's an old saw metaphor
but better that than a sore bone!

(did ya saw what i did there? uh huh...)

Angeline said:

I've totally lost respect for you.

This was written by Disposa Girl. She's in France now.

Gimme that sex thing
Serve it up hot
Shove it up my O ring
Sanctify my G spot

Jerk my legs up high
Bang me up rough
Suck me till I'm bone dry
Slip me your good stuff

Sexy sap steamy soul
Sucky soft sticky sweet
Jimmy jam jelly roll
Sexsmellicious scented heat

Turn me over baby
Take it from behind
Slide it, ride it, deep inside it
Mesmerize and cauterize it
Jack it till you pulverize this
groovy movey grind

Click to expand...

EXCESSIVE ALLITERATION
I bet Rybka loved it.
which reminds me, do you think PG-13 would mind?

undo ki
bytwelveoone©

the sight of you in kimono
undone - i've become

engaged
with doing

what is left undone


generated by a machine also - i just edited out the komodo

chipbutty said:

i sawd!

a bone's an old saw metaphor
but better that than a sore bone!

(did ya saw what i did there? uh huh...)

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ouch

twelveoone said:

EXCESSIVE ALLITERATION
I bet Rybka loved it.
which reminds me, do you think PG-13 would mind?

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It was all the rage in 2002.

Rybka was shocked.

Paasha said:

Seeing a slip of bra strap in an erotic poem is more arousing to me. Using my imagination is sexy. "Throbbing cocks" and "wet pussies" are something crude that stomped all over a poem. It's like having a garment malfunction and a tit flopping out. It's out there, all you can do is stare.

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Hmmm. I suppose that perhaps depends on the execution of the poem, don't it?Doggerel for the Doge, frankly. Not meanin' to discount your comment, Paasha; your point is well taken. But Poet Guy thinks even throbbing cocks and wet pussies might be erotic under the right circumstances (and under the pen of the right poet) and that a hint of bra strap might be just as dull as the roboporn often posted to Literotica.

But, his opinion. May not be yours.

Thanks for your comment. Speaks to the question, actually, more than Poet Guy's poor counterexample. Understatement seems to be one of the things that helps an erotic poem, at least sometimes.

Or does it?

PoetGuy said:

Doggerel for the Doge,

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Doge of Doggerel is a registered Trademark of anonamouse; expect a cease and desist letter from his lawyer.

Angeline said:

Turn me over baby
Take it from behind
Slide it, ride it, deep inside it
Mesmerize and cauterize it
Jack it till you pulverize this
groovy movey grind

Click to expand...

twelveoone said:

EXCESSIVE ALLITERATION

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Really? Poet Guy would actually think this passage evidenced too much, um, assonance.

But he is no expert on (*cough*) poetic technique.

PoetGuy said:

Really? Poet Guy would actually think this passage evidenced too much, um, assonance.

But he is no expert on (*cough*) poetic technique.

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assonance if applied in the correct proportion



is groovy