What It Takes to Be a Poet

This has to be one of the most difficult questions one can ever brainstorm about. Some people would say, paper or a laptop, and a pen, of course. Some would say, ideas and caliber.

The cause, pretty much, is already there. You just, do not know it yet. Hm. Ideas, check. Will, double check. Hold your breaths in. The secret comes in now. The real aspect that turns you into a poet, well, it turned me.

Feelings.

Er? Not something you were expecting? You were probably expecting some big word that you haven't probably heard of, something you would google right after this post and scratch your head about? Well, good news. It's not that.

It's feelings. Yes, feelings.

Yeah, I get that genius, but what do you mean?

It is pretty simple. Let your poem reflect YOU. What you see the thing you are talking about as. What does it look like to you.

Still sounding ambiguous? Let me give you an example.

Rain. For most people, rain is just, well, rain. Everyone has their umbrellas out, some have their paper boats, and some just smile or frown from inside the windows. But if you think deeper, it is different.

Generally, even in a poetic way, I hear people describe rain as something romantic? That is true. There are thousands of excerpts you can find about rain and romance. Google? Go!

But can you make it any different?

What will I write you ask? Something like this.

My personal journal and how it came to be.

It starts with the homely, fulfilling scent of the soil, just like the scent of the crisp, brand new pages of an untouched journal picked at the store, intoxicating and compelling me into its embrace. You know how you can't just ignore one scent in the world that feels like home? Lucky for me, I have two.

Then, the water comes in, glistening in your thoughts, slow at first, just like ink on paper, initially. Then, all at once, engulfing you and then you just can't stop writing. Pages and pages, you go on, just like the endless raindrops from the sky. They go on like a song, some high notes, some low, some fast paced and others slow, just like your journal, sometimes it is upsetting, and sometimes cheerful, forming a beautiful map of your past.

Finally, the magic works on you. You are done writing and you feel light. Satisfied. You feel like a new person. Just like when the rain stops, it is a new time of the day, everything feels new, YOU feel new and fresh. Everything is washed away. Some in the form of dust, some in the form of wind, and some are just a splash to your thoughts.

That is the rain. My personal journal. And every time it comes, I have more pages to write and hope for, and more days to smile and live. This is what rain is, to me.

Um, did I pass?

Haha. This is what I meant.

Be you while you write. That is what makes you special. Do not go "as red as a rose" and "as white as snow" when you describe beauty.

How about, "strokes of a brush?"

There, that is all I have to say. You all have a poet within you, because all of you are different. Go find it, and remember, always have a pen ready in your pocket! You never know when you will need it!

Tanisha