Written in Water

There's a great metrical poem by Cecil Day-Lewis that has him going on an art tour in Italy ("armed with good taste, a Leica and a guide"), and, for each famous painting that stirs his poetic imagination, he dedicates a section of the poem to a famous contemporary poet.

Not only that, but, as students of Old Masters have for generations in art, he writes each section in the style of that poet. He has verses imitating Auden, Yeats, Hardy and several others. Each one is in a rhyme scheme and line structure that suits both the poem and poet. Yet, the "in-between" sections by the late poet laureate of England are truly his own art -- as are his "imitations."

It prompts something worth thinking about: what does your "stylistic stamp" look like? I know a lot of modern writing teachers like to talk about "finding your voice," but I think that's just a starting point. Your work's individual stamp -- in which a reader pretty much knows a poem is by you without having to see your name under it -- is really a goal, not a mere point of departure.

I'm calling this goal a "watermark" -- implying both a stamp of quality for fine paper and a means of digital security for electronic documents. It's really like both.

"No way Joe Buzznow wrote that! That's definitely by [fill in your name]." Now, wouldn't you like that said about your work?

So, how do you get there? I think that's completely individual, don't you? How on Earth can anyone do that for you, or even begin to outline a procedure that will secure your work forever?

In my case, it was a long series of personal events that stamped the work for me. They made an indelible impression on my mind (both conscious and unconscious), and my poetic reaction in response created, bit by bit, my watermark. I think you can see it hiding like undertext in a palimpsest within previous posts.

In other cases, it might be something completely different. But even if yours comes from the same basic process as mine, your watermark still would differ. No two recollections of 9/11/01 are identical, even though we all remember the day.

Your poetry's watermark is like a medieval lord's coat of arms -- both his possession and his description, his signature and his seal, his word and his bond.

I wish you luck in forging yours.