Something to think about
Why I like poetry...
I have often heard groans or witnessed students physically cringe when poetry is mentioned almost as if it is this bizarre, scary idea that if subjected to, will cause pain or extreme mental torture. For me, poetry has always been quite the opposite. So I thought, in lieu of April and the events to come, I would share some of what I love about poetry.
To begin with, it is generally short. In moments, you can experience another place, laugh, be moved, or left to ponder. It is quick and beautiful. One of the first poems I remember reading was from the amazing Langston Hughes titled "April Rain Song". It reads:
It doesn't get much simpler than that, and yet, the words are put together in such a way that you see the rain, you hear it, you feel the delight of it. Take a moment and read it aloud (that is how poetry is meant to be read). You'll hear the sound of the rain as your mouth forms the words of the second to last line. In just seven lines, Hughes has shared something with each reader. You don't have to be a genius, a scholar, or anything special at all to understand what this poem is all about.
A poem should make you smile, should linger with you after you leave it, capture you for a moment and when you realize it is over, that it is done and has left you, there is something in you the better for it. This is why I like poetry. It is a magical glimpse at something, like a dream. If a poem does not do this for you, move on and find another.
Honestly, I could go on, but my hope is that each of you, as you read this will see poetry as less intimidating and be willing to give it a try. Here's another favorite that I can't help sharing.
I have often heard groans or witnessed students physically cringe when poetry is mentioned almost as if it is this bizarre, scary idea that if subjected to, will cause pain or extreme mental torture. For me, poetry has always been quite the opposite. So I thought, in lieu of April and the events to come, I would share some of what I love about poetry.
To begin with, it is generally short. In moments, you can experience another place, laugh, be moved, or left to ponder. It is quick and beautiful. One of the first poems I remember reading was from the amazing Langston Hughes titled "April Rain Song". It reads:
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| photograph ©Pamela Link
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Let the rain kiss you / Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby / The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter / The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby / The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter / The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
It doesn't get much simpler than that, and yet, the words are put together in such a way that you see the rain, you hear it, you feel the delight of it. Take a moment and read it aloud (that is how poetry is meant to be read). You'll hear the sound of the rain as your mouth forms the words of the second to last line. In just seven lines, Hughes has shared something with each reader. You don't have to be a genius, a scholar, or anything special at all to understand what this poem is all about.
A poem should make you smile, should linger with you after you leave it, capture you for a moment and when you realize it is over, that it is done and has left you, there is something in you the better for it. This is why I like poetry. It is a magical glimpse at something, like a dream. If a poem does not do this for you, move on and find another.
Honestly, I could go on, but my hope is that each of you, as you read this will see poetry as less intimidating and be willing to give it a try. Here's another favorite that I can't help sharing.
A Clear Midnight by Walt Whitman
THIS is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou
lovest best.
Night, sleep, and the stars.
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou
lovest best.
Night, sleep, and the stars.
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