Poetry is the Music of Life
Poetry dances, prose walks. Poems are the music
of life, the waltzes and sambas and the blues,
Poems are leaves swaying in the breeze, the wind
whistling through the door, the clouds darkening,
the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning,
the mist in the valley, the rainbow over the hills,
the cotton cumulus clouds, and stars and moonlight.
Poems are tears and laughter that nurture the soul.
Poetry Is Not Complicated
Many decorate their poems with fashions from the past,
others stuff their poems with poetic dressings like allusions,
caesuras, metrics, and conceits. They insert elaborate
language, as if that makes readers swoon with admiration.
They can add powdered wigs, high lace collars, frills,
and silk stockings; top hat, white tie, and tails;
But they all fail to understand. A poem is naked like
Michelangelo's David, simplicity like your heartbeat.