Obscurity

A banana ripe and yellow

Dat taste make me feel so mellow.

    Whenever I read an obscure poem, a part of me always thinks the author just made it all up with no higher meaning or purpose. They just hope some sucker of a critic over analyze it, catch some sort of interpretation that wasn’t really intended to be there, and prompt the poem to proliferate in popularity. 

    Perhaps the best way to write poetry is through use of drugs. Many great artists have been known to employ this tactic; the rockstar trope originates from the sheer number of high profile musicians who died or underwent serious complications due to substance overdose, and many of the greats were known addicts to the point where they were often under the influence during live performances. Hallucinogenic drugs would suit this purpose best because they distort the perception of reality, making any form of expression highly individual, irregular, and surreal, many qualities which the arts can be known to embody. The sometimes nonsensical products made by those on drugs could easily be misinterpreted by someone a little too open-minded (or equally inebriated).

    So is this strategy a con? Technically not, because the viewer or reader still enjoys it at the end of the day. They still undergo positive utility when consuming obscure poetry because they like it, so they aren’t being negatively impacted. Maybe they’re deluding themselves, but in the end they aren’t being afflicted or injured in the process because the impact probably only extends itself as far as poetry. So to conclude, distributing ridiculous art or poetry isn’t necessarily bad unless it’s being forced upon someone who doesn’t want it.