words to avoid in erotic poetry

[champagne1982]

I wrote a very long post just now about the nature of clichés. Then I deleted it; the gist of it was that no one's thoughts/feelings are truly unique, special or, ultimately, important. Oh, the irony.

Well, we've had some strange conversations about the general expectations roused by seeing certain words in poems - ie the discussion with WickedEve about unicorns and rainbows a long time ago that devolved into this.

Eve used to create "forbidden" word challenges that really made you stretch your mental thesaurus around a topic to create a decent poem. For instance an Eve-ish challenge would be to write a 6 line poem about Night without using the words

night
dark
black
moon
stars
day​

But to get back on topic - while it's good to say we shouldn't use certain words in erotic poetry I think it's better to challenge ourselves to use any word that evokes the closest impression of the mood we're inventing with the poem. I used to use mound in my stories sometimes because it's a decent descriptor of that pudgy rise that protects a woman's clit until her arousal causes it to stand proud. I realize now it's a profoundly trite way to write the image and I strictly curtail its use when I write. I understand that someone who's not comfortable with using cunt or anatomical terms to describe a vagina may choose mound instead but that doesn't excuse consistent and boring use of it. I kind of like "pudgy rise" lol.

So, in defense of all cliché users, it's difficult to describe a pussy on an erotic website without using hackneyed expressions. There are a LOT of descriptions archived here so it's nearly impossible to write something fresh. Still, don't be lazy by falling back onto clichés all of the time, poets are obligated to find the BEST way to say exactly what we mean.

And for butters - knob should never be used when describing a man's penis. LOL

 

[butters]

Well, we've had some strange conversations about the general expectations roused by seeing certain words in poems - ie the discussion with WickedEve about unicorns and rainbows a long time ago that devolved into this.

Eve used to create "forbidden" word challenges that really made you stretch your mental thesaurus around a topic to create a decent poem. For instance an Eve-ish challenge would be to write a 6 line poem about Night without using the words

night
dark
black
moon
stars
day​

But to get back on topic - while it's good to say we shouldn't use certain words in erotic poetry I think it's better to challenge ourselves to use any word that evokes the closest impression of the mood we're inventing with the poem. I used to use mound in my stories sometimes because it's a decent descriptor of that pudgy rise that protects a woman's clit until her arousal causes it to stand proud. I realize now it's a profoundly trite way to write the image and I strictly curtail its use when I write. I understand that someone who's not comfortable with using cunt or anatomical terms to describe a vagina may choose mound instead but that doesn't excuse consistent and boring use of it. I kind of like "pudgy rise" lol.

So, in defense of all cliché users, it's difficult to describe a pussy on an erotic website without using hackneyed expressions. There are a LOT of descriptions archived here so it's nearly impossible to write something fresh. Still, don't be lazy by falling back onto clichés all of the time, poets are obligated to find the BEST way to say exactly what we mean.

And for butters - knob should never be used when describing a man's penis. LOL

ha!

 

[butters]

Not directed at anybody's particular contribution so far.
I think this is the start of a dangerous game with language and the last people I'd expect to see starting it are poets. Words are not there for nothing and there were not invented by us. If some people are turned off or on by particular words, that is their problem or their grace, but to suggest the compilation of a list of "no-no's" in writing poems, pornographic or otherwise, I consider it patronizing, big-brotherish and utterly fascistic. It all depends in context and artistry of expression, and not on censorship.
How can you be a censor to your cunt or to your cock? If you got one of them feel proud for it.

Totally agree , Pelegrino ! Absolutely !

you do?

hmmn, and there was me thinking i wasn't any of the above. oh dear.

 

[butters]

It all depends in context and artistry of expression, and not on censorship.

this is the part most appear to agree with, myself included.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Not directed at anybody's particular contribution so far.
I think this is the start of a dangerous game with language and the last people I'd expect to see starting it are poets. Words are not there for nothing and there were not invented by us. If some people are turned off or on by particular words, that is their problem or their grace, but to suggest the compilation of a list of "no-no's" in writing poems, pornographic or otherwise, I consider it patronizing, big-brotherish and utterly fascistic. It all depends in context and artistry of expression, and not on censorship.
How can you be a censor to your cunt or to your cock? If you got one of them feel proud for it.

I see it as friendly advice to help steer the writer away from certain words that are more likely to raise a groan of derision rather than a groan of lust

 

[butters]

I see it as friendly advice to help steer the writer away from certain words that are more likely to raise a groan of derision rather than a groan of lust

you mean i don't get to dress in brown and burn books? *tuts*

 

[Tsotha]

Well, we've had some strange conversations about the general expectations roused by seeing certain words in poems - ie the discussion with WickedEve about unicorns and rainbows a long time ago that devolved into this.

Well, that was amusing.

Eve used to create "forbidden" word challenges that really made you stretch your mental thesaurus around a topic to create a decent poem. For instance an Eve-ish challenge would be to write a 6 line poem about Night without using the words

night
dark
black
moon
stars
day​

Out here, in the void,
it's easy to lose track of time.
Sleep doesn't come
though miniature cities slumber.
The unlit side slides by,
now it's time to meet the Sun.

Meh.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

you mean i don't get to dress in brown and burn books? *tuts*

I could arrange some Witchfinder General type apparatus

 

[HarryHill]

Someone just used the word 'poosay' in the GB how offensive is that?

 

[butters]

Someone just used the word 'poosay' in the GB how offensive is that?

reminds me of From Dusk till Dawn....

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Someone just used the word 'poosay' in the GB how offensive is that?

Is that a posh pussy with a big mouth?

 

[Neonurotic]

Is that a posh pussy with a big mouth?

It's pussy said with a Sean Connery accent.

 

[bogusagain]

"c" word?

Cunt is a powerful word when used in an appropriately.

I'm never quite sure why people are able to use all the other sexual words but are sensitive about cunt. Maybe its the prominence of feminism. Politically correctness should be left at the door when it comes to poetry or any art come to that.

Hmm Political correctness is an enemy of erotic poetry, though there isn't much of that on Lit, excess is usually the problem.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Cunt is a powerful word when used in an appropriately.

I'm never quite sure why people are able to use all the other sexual words but are sensitive about cunt. Maybe its the prominence of feminism. Politically correctness should be left at the door when it comes to poetry or any art come to that.

Hmm Political correctness is an enemy of erotic poetry, though there isn't much of that on Lit, excess is usually the problem.

I don't think anything has been said about words being PC or not, more which ones make the reader cringe

 

[RhymeFairy]

mmhmmm

words to avoid

why not embrace?

partake? let love
slide ...


sling us
in?

slithering fingers
kissing, nether regions

needled. next,

he kisses, napes,

tongues
tantalize. soft lips

legion. leading
fingertips
ferociously

feathering
down,

down
up
tits, tested
tasted

nips, nubs
next, she

blows

softly, settles upon

his neck
kissing, nipping
growling
leading into his


his never ending kiss
seconds, minutes
hours - I succumb

seeking

fevering
feverishly
fiddling,
needing. nesting in-to
more kisses. whispering
skin, lashing, languishing

lethargically leaning into

all that he is. Breathing in, his
he
him ...
his

presence. All I want,
need, ever dream

of as each tongue lash
lathers, slowly circling, causing

eruptions
nerve ending needs

nether region
wants, a soft
sigh
he needs
me, just
me ... here
now

no avoidance, just seeking,

nestling into

our

here
now ....




* jus saying ...

 

[HarryHill]

colors to avoid on a white backgroung

l i m e

 

[UnderYourSpell]

words to avoid

why not embrace?

partake? let love
slide ...


sling us
in?

slithering fingers
kissing, nether regions

needled. next,

he kisses, napes,

tongues
tantalize. soft lips

legion. leading
fingertips
ferociously

feathering
down,

down
up
tits, tested
tasted

nips, nubs
next, she

blows

softly, settles upon

his neck
kissing, nipping
growling
leading into his


his never ending kiss
seconds, minutes
hours - I succumb

seeking

fevering
feverishly
fiddling,
needing. nesting in-to
more kisses. whispering
skin, lashing, languishing

lethargically leaning into

all that he is. Breathing in, his
he
him ...
his

presence. All I want,
need, ever dream

of as each tongue lash
lathers, slowly circling, causing

eruptions
nerve ending needs

nether region
wants, a soft
sigh
he needs
me, just
me ... here
now

no avoidance, just seeking,

nestling into

our

here
now ....




* jus saying ...

Sorry that killed my eyes too much to read all of it

 

[Tzara]

Cunt is a powerful word when used appropriately.

I'm never quite sure why people are able to use all the other sexual words but are sensitive about cunt. Maybe its the prominence of feminism. Political correctness should be left at the door when it comes to poetry or any art come to that.

Hmm Political correctness is an enemy of erotic poetry, though there isn't much of that on Lit, excess is usually the problem.

I essentially agree with you, bogus, though I also understand gm's aversion to the word. My wife hates, hates, hates, HATES the word, I think because of it being used as a supremely dismissive pejorative about women. It isn't, I think, the sexual meaning that is so much the problem as the contemptuous, dismissive, and vituperative use of the term to refer to a woman ("She's a cunt.").

Think of it as being as offensive to some women as "nigger" is to black people. Why you sometimes see it referred to as the "C-word."

As with any word, context is everything.

 

[bogusagain]

I essentially agree with you, bogus, though I also understand gm's aversion to the word. My wife hates, hates, hates, HATES the word, I think because of it being used as a supremely dismissive pejorative about women. It isn't, I think, the sexual meaning that is so much the problem as the contemptuous, dismissive, and vituperative use of the term to refer to a woman ("She's a cunt.").

Think of it as being as offensive to some women as "nigger" is to black people. Why you sometimes see it referred to as the "C-word."

As with any word, context is everything.

My other (temporary) half doesn't get the power of English four letter words, they just sound like mundane German, Danish or Dutch words.

Fair point Tzara. Context is everything. Even cliches can work well when used appropriately.

 

[Tsotha]

About the c-word... It's interesting to me that it doesn't pack a punch when I read/hear it. I have heard it used in movies, sure, and in my mind it immediately conjures the image of an aggressive male about to strike a woman... But it is otherwise just another "bad word", no better or worse. It seems I'm lacking the hands-on experience of hearing people use it in a personal context, to create the almost physical response people are describing here. I actually like it. It has four letters, it sounds sharp, it rhymes with punt...

It seems I'm just not very prejudiced about words—which isn't necessarily a good thing! I actually had to ask a friend once to explain the difference (in mood) between the many words used for genitalia, since they are all interchangeable in my mind.

I see now that some of the "clichés" you're describing above are euphemisms and cheesy usage of words (rosebud, manhood...). *ponders* Hm, ok. Yeah, these are clichés. Tired images, used carelessly, without being given thought, to replace the true name of things. Another example of my lack of prejudice: I never thought of "nether lips" as a cliché...

 

[Magnetron]

vagina

If your going for laughs, sure.

Erotic, it is not.

 

[pelegrino]

you do?

hmmn, and there was me thinking i wasn't any of the above. oh dear.

Butters, I am afraid, I may have hurt your feelings, in which case I do apologize. I did write that I was not directing my post at anybody's particular contribution and that included yours. I criticized as fascist and patronizing our whole involvement, the whole exercise of this thread. Since you said that it is meant to be taken only as a light hearted thread, I feel at ease with it. But I see that people do object seriously to some words and label them as clichés or revolting, or whatever.
Well, that is still a matter of taste and maybe a matter of morality and social class origin to me, but it looks that enough words and objections to them have been/will be provided for the required list of "no-no's". In that case, I mean in compiling such a list we come up with something like the beginning of some rules. I wish that someone will take the initiative and start the compilation in a structured way (and with references of particular objections to various words), so that we may start referring to it, start breaking its rules, and know at least who's sensibilities we offend.
No, I did not mean that you or anybody else is a fascist. I have respect and admiration for everybody's work and efforts in this thread.

 

[pelegrino]

Well you've got one line 'I shoot my jizzem in your rosebud then wipe it with a flannel'

I shoot my jizzem in your rosebad,
Then wipe it with a flannel,
Then heard you say, "That was not bad,
Now pierce my other channel."

 

[Magnetron]

I shoot my jizzem in your rosebad,
Then wipe it with a flannel,
Then heard you say, "That was not bad,
Now pierce my other channel."

A rose by any other name is a badrose
I know it sounds silly
Not that it prevented me, though
To the occasion I arose
And jizzemed jazzemed willy nilly
Like a firehouse with a mind of its own
Pounding your bread dough with my rolling pin
Spilling flour all over the flannel sheets
My wild oats now sown

 

[butters]

Butters, I am afraid, I may have hurt your feelings, in which case I do apologize. I did write that I was not directing my post at anybody's particular contribution and that included yours. I criticized as fascist and patronizing our whole involvement, the whole exercise of this thread. Since you said that it is meant to be taken only as a light hearted thread, I feel at ease with it. But I see that people do object seriously to some words and label them as clichés or revolting, or whatever.
Well, that is still a matter of taste and maybe a matter of morality and social class origin to me, but it looks that enough words and objections to them have been/will be provided for the required list of "no-no's". In that case, I mean in compiling such a list we come up with something like the beginning of some rules. I wish that someone will take the initiative and start the compilation in a structured way (and with references of particular objections to various words), so that we may start referring to it, start breaking its rules, and know at least who's sensibilities we offend.
No, I did not mean that you or anybody else is a fascist. I have respect and admiration for everybody's work and efforts in this thread.

lol, no you didn't - it's fine i was a little surprised by your reaction, but took it all in good humour. cos that's how i roll

we began posting the list, with reasons, but it simply is all tongue-in-cheek and rules are for guidance only - we often ignore them. rules aren't what makes a poem work.