I find it easy to write conversational poetry that describes a strong opinion or an incident. Sometimes I have what Australian poet, Mark Tredinnick, calls the philosophical whoosh. Most of the time, however, I leave a lot to the reader to infer. Or if I do have some kind of a-ha moment it's too subtle for anyone but myself to get!
I'm not sure where my reluctance to spell things out comes from. Perhaps it's because I feel uncomfortable about telling other people how to live their lives? I'm not too sure.
It's an extreme example of showing and not telling. I do so much showing that the reader has no idea of what I am trying to say because I am not telling them anything. So perhaps the old adage of showing and not telling isn't entirely true. If you have a message, then you need to allude to it in some way so that your reader picks up on it.
I think the biggest problem is that most of the time I don't actually have a message. Just a little story or a scene from my life to share. There's no hidden agenda or big life affirming message. Just a peep into my life.
I am thinking of calling my poetry zen poetry. The kind of poetry that has no meaning except the meaning that you, the reader, brings to it. What do you think? Would you read it?