April is National Poetry month, but poetry can be celebrated any time.
I enjoy reading poetry because I like seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Great poetry creates a memorable experience. It’s an emotional time machine that has the power to delight, anger, love, or ache.
Yet, I still find it challenging to define poetry, and even harder to write it. Like artists paint images with color, poets paint images with words.
Poetry is a form of writing with certain recognizable characteristics: mood, rhythm, meter, and story. As a storyteller, I try to use poetry to make my stories more exciting and memorable.
Rhythm is the pulse of life in poetry – Arthur Alexander, The Poet’s Eye.
Rhythm helps create and stir the emotion we feel when we read a poem. Poetry is also a personal experience with many interpretations.
In High School, I loved to read the poetry of Emily Dickinson. “Will there really be a morning?” inspired me to create a slide show story entitled “Daybreak” for my film study class at Penfield High School.
For several days, just before dawn, I pedaled to horse farms and fields with my 35 mm Minolta X700 slung over my shoulder. It was breathtaking to watch the sun’s fiery colors waltz along the horizon.
More spectacular moments materialized as I snapped pictures of various flowers – their yawning pedals dripping with dew as they began their morning sun salutations. I carefully chose each image and programmed the slide projector to advance along with a cassette recording of Vangelis’ overused “Chariots of Fire.”
I shared this story in a note to my niece, an aspiring writer, along with a book of Emily Dickinson’s poems a few years ago. I wanted her to know that the key to unlocking the treasure of poetry is held in its understanding. Once unlocked, a world of joy can be experienced. Only when we learn more about poetry can we find the beauty and fun in something that wasn’t evident before.
My advice: Write what you know. Write for yourself. But above all else, write.
To honor that advice, I created a place to share poems that have inspired me in some way. As a bonus, I’ve posted a few of my own poetry for Kids and Grown Ups.
I’d love to hear what you think. Connect with me on Facebook or leave a comment on my website or send me an email.
