Poetry Is Soft People Complaining - Field Ethos
The other day, I was driving with my daughter when she casually dropped a thought that really made me think. She told me they were studying poetry in school and that it all seemed like “soft people complaining.” I laughed and pushed back, saying there are different kinds of poets. “I’m a poet of sorts,” I told her.
She tilted her head, considering, then shot back, “Yeah, but your poetry is probably like… masculine.”
It was one of those moments where you realize your kid has said something far more insightful than they intended. I started thinking about it. What does that mean—masculine poetry? And why does the idea of poetry these days feel disconnected from the grit and spirit it once held?
Poets used to be warriors, explorers, and adventurers. They didn’t just sit and write; they lived their words. They crossed oceans, fought battles, stood on peaks, and bled into the soil of foreign lands. Think of men like Kipling, Hemingway, or Byron—writers who embodied fortitude and ferocity. Poetry wasn’t just about expressing emotions; it was about capturing the chaos of life, the fire of conflict, and the deep, wordless yearning for meaning in it all.
