Poetry.
Had an interesting discussion on Twitter about what poetry is, especially with the influence of social media and the spectrum of different divisions, like Spoken Word, Slam, Traditional, and all the other ways people are writing or performing poetry.
I wish I could tell you how many poems I have written… but I can’t. I have notebooks, scraps of paper, digital documents, tweets, and so many other places where I’ve written down words. Most of those words were worked into poetry.
I wrote on the edges of my notebooks during class when I was in school. Now, I speak into my phone on my walks to capture lines or ideas. I share poems on Twitter Spaces, I do poetry lessons for Move Me Poetry, and have been competing in Slams.
I do not earn any money from my poetry. Yes, every once in a while I sell a book, but by no means do I make any money. So, why do I write poetry? Why do I teach poetry when my students roll their eyes when I introduce it?
Because poetry is the closest art form to our human spirit. Yes, the human spirit is found in all the art forms… painting, drawing, music… but poetry, poetry beats with our hearts.
Even if it is the only poem they ever write, my students find the words to express themselves, and so many find courage to stand and speak their hearts to the class. I love walking the bridge back in time with Wordsworth, or walk the streets of Harlem with Langston Hughes.
I write poetry so that I can breathe. I write poetry so that I can understand myself in this world. I write poetry to build a connection to anyone who reads my words.
I write poetry… to be me.
It is all Connected 