what makes an erotic poem erotic?

in poetry, there's a gulf between erotica and porn, with good old wham-bam-thankyou-man lying somewheres in the middle. nothing wrong with writing or reading any of these genres - if the writing's good.

it's a shame that everything at all sexually-related gets lumped under the one umbrella of erotic when most genuinely don't fall into that category.

so here's a little thread to discuss what defines erotic poetry for you as an individual and what specifically might ruin it as a piece of erotica.

it's kind of a shame that some people won't even open a poem labeled "erotic" but i can't blame them given some of the poems i've read around the net.

so, c'mon... your thoughts. feed me, and maybe some people who'd never normally delve into the realm of erotica just might broaden their horizons

I agree there is a huge canyon between erotic poetry and pornographic poetry yet they are all included in one category.
I see erotic poetry as being subtle, alluring and thick with metaphors
I see pornographic as the rest of the "Wham bam thank you mam" kinda stuff. I don't see that as erotic

David_Macleod said:I agree there is a huge canyon between erotic poetry and pornographic poetry yet they are all included in one category.
I see erotic poetry as being subtle, alluring and thick with metaphors
I see pornographic as the rest of the "Wham bam thank you mam" kinda stuff. I don't see that as erotic

What he said^

feel free to expand, link to examples, drop lines of your own even....

The best writers in the art of erotica, true erotica that is...use metaphors to describe the most intimate emotions with imagery that slowly unflurls subtlety and then twines itself with suggestion, blushing innuendo like brush of air and then leaving the reader intoxicated with a lingering scent reminding him/her with something/someone they can relate to personally.

nice, thankyou

As a published romance and erotica author, there is a fragile line one can and is always capable of intermingling when writing, sensual romance and erotica romance.

When I am writing for publication or simply for posting on various site. I will write from my heart in regard to what feelings uplifts my heart. Romance in general is erotic within itself, it is the act of mental suggestive depicting the act of any sexual nature in all its splendid glory, in addition, without finding fault behind its merit to convey.

Erotica is more descriptive; it is the balance of the ink stain to shade in when vague words can no longer express or conjure such mental illusions to satisfy the mind or the hunger of sensual worded foreplay.

I can write on any subject matter and place emphasis on the virginal interactions between man and woman or heighten the mental pleasure with dripping wet sexual envisioned narratives to make anyone’s libido achingly hard or climatic hot.

Therefore, when you see the words, porn, erotic, lust, sex, my favorite themes, you best believe, you will enjoy the carnal ride of my mind on canvass as I share with you. It is the gift of my pen to kindle that animalistic nature we all have obscured, I’m just here to tap into your imagery senses to bring it forth.

Mm...are you cumming yet...wink,
SKC

care to drop an excerpt here for us to take a look at and make up our own minds? if it's as you say, i'll come read you :)

Queen Of His Night

Queen of His Night
The softness of a clandestine affair escalating in flight
Muscular body, virility glistening in the moonlight upon satin sheets  
Dropping my towel, bending over, striking a naughty pose for his eyes to feast  
Fingering me over to the bed, ecstasy and lust lays under his thrusting greet  
 
Buttocks palmed, pulling me in  
Sniffing the soft folds of my silken treasure, his cheek rubbing against my jewel abdomen  
Sole of my foot planted on his robust thigh, fingers parting the pinkish wet opening  
His caresses, his touch, the anticipation of his enticing tongue licking, my desires he’s awoken    
Mm… he’s bringing the pleasure of his hard length of joy  
Parting my thighs fingering his favorite silken toy  
   
Legs spread  
Suckling my clit, knees buckling, plaming his head    
His fingers and mouth taking command  
Sensations radiating, weakening feelings too good to remain at a stand  
My back to the bed making a soft land  
Kisses to my feet, my toes  
Tongue snaking up my inner thigh, passion mark, breasts palmed, his fetish on a wicked patrol    
Thighs divided wider, losing self-control  
   
Taking his throne between my thighs  
Cupping his erection, wetting the tip then darting the length deep inside    
Grunts, bathing his girth for a butter rum creamy ride  
Wrists bound held up high    
Linking my feet around his back, mm…oh yes, go deeper with that drive  
   
Bucking my fine downy haired mound, wrists clinched tigher, pelvic slammed into  
Sapping, my trickling wet juicy dew  
Move that pussy faster, whispered in my ear  
In the cloak of dark, senses too far gone to adhere  
   
Entwined limps upon a bed of rapture    
My body a prisoner of his to sexual capture  
Soft moans, taking me under, begging him to set me free  
Not complete unto he releases the climax seeping from me  
   
Lust filled the space of time, tumbling as we lay  
Tender touches, worshipping my skin, stealing my breath away  
   
Tongue sticking in my ear, my body faintly shivering  
His girth funneling inside my wetness, thrasing and delivering  
In the abyss of my wet passion, foray  
Bodies seductively play  
Mm…oh…yes…. baby make this cunt cum  
Let me feel your flow gush then mine flush and slolwy run  
   
Bodies moving no given space  
Lips covering mine, dick circling inside me all over the place  
Body elongated  
Scratching his back upon the driving consummate  
   
Oh...baby…escaping my lips  
Palming my ass, sinking, retracting then anchoring his dick dips  
Headboard gripped  
Groin against my pelvis, ceased of movement, sliding it backwards to the throbbing tip    
Looking down into my eyes, ramming me deeper, cumming in the chasm of my slit  
   
Tongues dueling  
Sweat, breathless, bliss ruling  
Panting, hearts erratic beating, regulating, bodies cooling

yeah... that's the trouble with having been on literotica for years, i'm kinda jaded. i'm sure this will appeal to plenty of readers but, for me, i don't find it erotic. i'm not your target audience, though, so i'm sure that's not an issue for you

i'm female, straight, and 60... and have seen all this and more over and over and experienced sex for decades... so finding something new and fresh is a challenge when it comes to writers like yourself. i would class this in the realm between erotica and porn, not as erotica itself. thanks for posting, though.

My pleasure to have found your eyes, enjoy your evening as well, Ms. Jan

SweetKittyCat5 said:My pleasure to have found your eyes, enjoy your evening as well, Ms. Janback atcha and may you always have a mountain of readers :)

Aww...you are so graceful, likewise.. and thank you

for me, erotica is in the unstated, in the moods set by word-sounds and line-breaks, through the senses... sensuality. if it were a painting or photograph, that would be created through lighting, through suggestion, shadows, reflections.

a scene can depict something that has virtually no immediate connection to sex but appeals to us sensuously.

with poetry, i'd say it's the appeal to our senses through suggestion of texture and temperature; the state of an object (solid/liquid/gas); shapes and reactions; tastes, lighting (again); the sounds used to create assonance/soft-hard edges/sinuosity/rhythm, to speed up a line to suggest a quickened heartbeat (for example) or the slow, gentle lapping of a tongue...

for me, the best erotica draws you in to be a part of the poem, so you are experiencing the situation. it's not about describing a sex act with cute or coy language and it has to avoid cliches at all costs. nothing's gonna trip me up more in experiencing an erotic piece like a clunky old cliche - with maybe the exception of a misspell which can break the magic, too, irrevocably!

that 'drawing in' part? depends on if you're writing for fetish genres, too... for some, it may make them feel voyeuristic - great if you're into that, maybe a little discomforting if not. if you're into furries, the stroking of fur may tickle your senses, others may react by 'nah, loose hairs? no thank YOU!'  (there's an incest joke in there somewhere, but it's all relative   )

care to drop an excerpt here for us to take a look at and make up our own minds? if it's as you say, i'll come read you

It's only fair Ms. Jan.. when you feel comfortable.. let it rip