談臺灣現代詩，不能不顧及「臺灣」、「現代」與「詩」三個基本要素，以及三者之間的微妙關係。「時代」是日新月異的，從社會一般日常生活中，可見其流行對象與話題的快速轉換，從整體文化的形成來說，還可能涉及社會結構、生活型態、價值判斷、甚至認同感的改變；在時間裡會改變人和環境因素，有知識的累積、科技的快速發展，有許許多多無法規範的偶然事件。譬如說，在日治時期和 戰後的臺灣人民，對臺灣文化的觀點都一樣嗎？有過日本殖民經驗的臺灣人和跟隨國民正府撤退來臺的新臺灣人之間，對臺灣文化的認知有共識嗎？即便是臺灣解嚴之前之後，同一批人對類似議題的看法可能都會有不同的思考。因此，在二十一世紀反省臺灣現代詩，若從上個世紀的心理與觀點來看事情，顯然是不夠的。西方在冷戰時期是意識形態的對立，後冷戰時代已逐漸傾向於全球化的整合，現在則有把世界當成一個「體系」看待的趨勢。因此，本文這從這個角度來反省臺灣現代詩。

To reflect on Taiwanese Modern Poetry we cannot avoid the relationship between the problems of Taiwan, Modernity and Poetry. The Time is characterized by the change. In the daily life the current styles always change. And in the cultural formation such changes may concern life style, value judgment and even identity. Because the changes concern not only the men and society but also knowledge, new scientific discoveries and rapid technical advances. The character of Taiwanese modernity is based on a desire for liberty, subjectivity and human dignity. Regarding the lack of liberty, Taiwanese poets were obliged to seek redress through irony and inuendo. Naturally, other emotions evolved from the civil war in China that obligated many to leave their homes and come to Taiwan more than half a century ago. In this special "modernity" of the Taiwanese historical context, between those who suffered the civil war and came to settle in Taiwan and those who suffered colonization and persecution, will they have the same common sense about Taiwanese Culture? Many people of the same group changed their viewpoints before and after the abolishment of the Martial Law, Now, if we reflect on the Taiwanese Contemporary Poetry from the old viewpoint and mind, it will be not enough. The age of colonialism, absolutism was over. The era of ideology-The Cold War-has ended too. Therefore, the paper will discuss, from the viewpoint of aesthetic modernity, what artistic form of poetry can represent the Truth and the Good in an epoch called globalization, and how to consider both globalization and its own characteristics.