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Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute. Let’s put aside the idea that every poem has to have a Hallmark ending and sound like a Hallmark card and really genuinely ask ourselves what makes for a poem that feels authentic. Take a minute and think about it, and then please do comment your thoughts below. Let’s get an honest-to-goodness discussion going here.

I think this is an issue with Christian poetry and Christian writing in general. I think sometimes we’re afraid to admit things concretely, and so we use abstractions or generalities to get around the hard truth that we’re human too. Yes, we’re in Christ. Yes, we’re new creations. But we’re still human too.

Here’s an example of what I mean. If, in a poem or a story, I were to describe a hard season in my life, how would I go about describing it? Maybe I’d use metaphors like darkness, night, the cold, etc. and be as general as possible about it so my readers can’t really tell what I’m talking about. Maybe they relate to my poem because it’s so general that most people can relate to it on some level, but that doesn’t mean they think feels authentic. In all likelihood, they probably think of my poem the same way they think of inspirational quotes, fortune cookies, and cat posters.

So why doesn’t that poem feel authentic? Maybe it’s because I haven’t put any skin in the game, so to speak. You know that person who asks for prayer and talks his/her way around the topic as much as possible, being as vague about it as possible? How close do you feel to that person? Do you feel like a close friend of that person? Probably not. I think sometimes we’re that person when it comes to our poems and stories, and I think our readers would rather we confide in them about the specifics like a close friend. And if that means our poems drop their meter or rhyme schemes or our stories’ endings don’t get wrapped up in perfect bows, then I think it’s worth it.

But what do you think? How are some ways you think Christian writers, and specifically poets, can be more authentic with their writing?