The Beauty of Poetry

Tree, originally uploaded by Adnan Yahya.

Everyone has gone through a “poetry phase”, most likely in high school or college when our romantic sensibilities are at their highest. As we come down to earth and learn to deal with day to day realities like grocery shopping and car payments, poetry fades in to the background, classed as impractical and pointless.

But poetry has an important place in our lives. It makes our minds focus on the depth of language, not just the breadth. A poem uses few words, but they are the essence of a idea—the rich juice of a concept.

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

--Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

There is plenty of poetry online, but I recommend getting a small book of verse and going out side to read and reflect. You might feel silly at first, but it is a great way to rediscover your inner romantic. He or she is not dead. Just buried under all that “important” stuff.

Comments

[dabrah]

What a gorgeous poem. That's the beauty of poetry. A poem can sum up in just a few words something that might otherwise take paragraphs to describe.