POETRY
POETRY
"The poet is he who makes you feel, after reading his poem, that his best verses have not yet been composed." Kahlil Gibran
This sums up how I feel about poetry. Kahlil Gibran is easily my favorite poet. His eloquence is beyond compare. He speaks through his poems with a quiet sensitivity and insight, yet his words sound in booming truisms. I appreciate many diffeent poets, but I best underdstand Gibran. I was first interested in Gibran because my parents recited a phrase of his from the book "The Prophet" as being central to their relationship (an d I have always admired the love that my parents share). As I began reading more Gibran, I realized that I had some of the same feelings and thoughts that he expressed in his writings.
Poetry is so beautiful because it forces one to compact their thoughts and emotions into a more dense medium than most. Poems resonate in the mind and soul. It is no wonder that some of the greatest ecologists have been poets: Thoreau, Whitman, ______. I think that it takes a poets soul to appreciate nature. This appreciation is easily transformed into concern and a desire for future generations to be likewise inspired. Poetry and concern for the environment go hand in hand in my opinion.
Anyways, I have to thank Mrs. Chen, Mr Bachmann, and the SF Unified School District for having a poet come into our classes in 6th and 7th grades on a regular basis to teach us poetic expression. As a result, I have always been able to use poetry to express my feelings or to help me solve the puzzles in my own head. I tend not to share my poetry with others because I don't know if they will understand where I am coming from, and also because I don't know if I want too many people to see that side of me. Another reason I don't share my poetry is that I take about 9 months to a year until I am satisfied with my phrasiology of my poems. I work on a number of them at one time, but they linger unfinished/unperfected. I hope to overcome those trepadations at some point, but until then I will continue to guard my poetry with a blanket of obscurity.
I definately encourage everyone to either read or write poetry at some point in their life. I think that it is an incredible feeling to be able to say with confidence "Wow, that's exactly how I feel/have felt!" To be able to convey emotions through words is a gift and should be appreciated and applauded when accomplished. Embrace the poet in all of us and greater understanding can only be the result.
