I am so torn right now.
I never explain my poems but I also am afraid of tossing around terrible words.
And if my poem doesn't speak for itself, it is not necessarily doing the job.
This is making me ill, but that is not the problem.
Controversy has a place.
I will take it down if the need rises.
Better to critique yourself. If the poem is not near-perfect, a monstrous word will stick out like a sore thumb, and not the way you might do so intentionally. And that still does not mean you should not have written it, or should not have published it as is. How can you be a perfect writer without first writing things that are less than perfect? In judging and criticizing our own work we strive to achieve perfection in the future.
On the subject of offending people: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuLrBLxbLxw Louis CK is a different kind of artist who uses words to paint his pictures and he chooses to confront the idea of the personal offense. He may be crude, but I feel the clip linked above is absolutely brilliant and courageous.
Thanks for your 2 cents. I don't want to use the name of the person who was offended, but it was not Mom. Think previous poetry teachers... Big deal people, really. But not high school. Still unsure.
PS Survived more tornado warnings.