Poetry

A poet is a person who possesses special powers of imagination or expression. Poets may simply be a writer of poetry or may perform their art to an audience. Poetry is a form of art that is a collection of words that express an emotion or idea, sometimes with a specific rhythm. A poet is someone with a creative mind. Expressing emotion that can't be spoken or expressed verbally. A creative mind setting it all out on paper.

There are many different famous poets. Some include William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, John Keats, John Milton, Walkt Whitman, William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot, Edgar Allan poe, Ezra pound, etc. The list goes on. Poetry comes from the heart and mind. These few poets were creative. They made a living off of their work. Opened people's eyes to see that in this world we need to be the change we want to see.

A poem can be written in different forms. Those different types of poetry are blank verse, rhymed, free verse, epics, narrative, haiku, pastoral, and a sonnet. Each of these genres is what makes the poem unique. I'll give a brief definition of each.

1. Blank verse: a literary device defined as an un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter. In poetry and prose, it has a consistent meter with 10 syllables in each line; where, unstressed syllables are followed by stressed one, five of which are stressed but do not rhyme. It is also known as "un-rhymed iambic pentameter." (https://literary devices.net/blank-verse)

2. Rhymed: a work of poetry that contains rhyming vowel sounds at particular moments

3. Free verse: lines of irregular length, rhyming (if at all) very irregularly

4: Epics: a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily involving a time beyond living memory in which occurred the extraordinary doings of the extraordinary men and women who, in dealings with the gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants, the poet, and their audience, to understand themselves as a people or nation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_poetry)

5. Narrative: a form of poetry that tells a story, often making the voices of a narrator and characters as well; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need to rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to maybe complex

6. Haiku: a form of Japanese poetry made of short, unrhymed lines that evoke natural imagery. Haiku can come in a variety of different formats of short verses, though the most common is a three-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern

7. Pastoral: explores the fantasy of withdrawing from modern life to live in an idyllic rural setting. Draws on the tradition of the ancient Greek poet Theocritus, who wrote romanticized versions of shepherds living rich and fulfilled lives

8. Sonnet: a fourteen-line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme. Often, sonnets use iambic pentameter: five sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables for a ten-syllable line. Were invented by the Italian poet Giacomo da Lentini during the 1200s

Rules of poetry are:

1. Read a lot of poetry. If you want to write poetry, start by reading poetry

2. Listen to live poetry recitations

3. Start small

4. Don't obsess over your first line

5. Embrace tools

6. Enhance the poetic form with literary devices

7. Try telling a story with your poem

8. Express big ideas

9. Paint with words

10. Familiarize yourself with myriad forms of poetry

11. Connect with other poets

Now the rules shouldn't be that important. As a poet myself, I have learned that it comes from the heart. It all starts with a creative imagination and being able to express how you are feeling within that moment. All you need to do is just sit down in a quiet room with a piece of paper and a pen. Start writing what is on your mind and it will come naturally.

We all try to be the best at something, well, I've found what I am good at. I might not have the money to be published but I enjoy writing poems. I enjoy putting my emotions into a way that doesn't tell my business but leaves a little mystery as well. Through poetry, we can spread love, joy, inspiration, peace, and hope. Let's not let this wonderful way of expressing how we feel fade.

Give it a try. Be a poet! Don't wait to start, let's do it today.