A Poem About Poetry
Does structured poetry convey the same emotional movement as slam poetry?
Who am I to say,
That a three lined haiku
Doesn’t move one’s heart
But you would have to be made of magic to be able to describe:
A beautiful masterpiece created by God -
A newborn baby girl
Sleeping peacefully in a tiny pink blanket
A cheeky-no-teeth smile on her face
Tiny little fingers curled in a loose fist
And tiny toes in little pink socks with a loving yellow bow on the seam
With the wonderful scent of love bursting in the air
A moment of happiness that will last a lifetime
Structured poems that may rhyme
Could make for a fun time
But by the end of the line
It’s time to call it quits
Because the only thing that rhymes with breath,
Is death,
And it’s hard to keep a fun rhyme when someone stops breathing
And everyone else starts grieving.
Sadness is easier to convey when an emotionally convincing voice tugs on the heartstrings
Of the weeping ears who chose to listen.
Terminal cancers murdering innocent mothers,
Leaving an orphaned teenaged daughter to choose between abuse or homelessness,
This can’t be read between the lines and analyzed
With an open ended meaning.
And that’s what structured poems are.
There’s more details that are open to interpretation,
Like an inkblot in a therapist's office-
“What do you see here?”
I see how the crescent moon falls into the light of your loving mother’s eyes,
Reflecting the dark gray shade of the quiet lake at night,
As the water shimmers by the campfire.
A tragic death of beauty that can only be spoken for.