The Power of Poetry

When I was a kid, I just didn’t get poetry.  Sure poems were easy enough to read, but I thought there were full of hidden meanings that I would never be able to understand.  It was the genre meant for really smart people, not me.  Through our recent work though, I realize just how wrong I was.  Poetry is a lot more important to me than I thought.

For one thing, poetry has helped me capture moments that matter (and even moments that don’t).  When I read “Hummingbird” by Felice Holman, I was reminded at how seemingly insignificant moments matter.  By rereading this poem over and over, I relived the moment and found great appreciation in it.  It made me think of how much I need to slow down my own life to appreciate the small moments.  That’s where the magic happens.

I also became more appreciative of the writing process through this unit. Before I used to become frustrated when ideas wouldn't come to me, but when we wrote alongside Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger, I saw how important it is to trust in the writing process. I became more patient and flexible when crafting my own poems, and sure enough, some ideas grew organically.

Finally, I saw that poetry is in the music we listen to. When I read "Let it Go" with a poet's eye, I saw how many poetic techniques the authors use. With metaphors, repetition and alliteration, they made their images and ideas shine through.

Like I said, poetry means a lot more to me now that it once did. In fact, it is such a unique genre that I just couldn't imagine my reading and writing life without it.