poeTRY

April is National Poetry Month. It is a shame that the educational assignments for poetry have often left more students hating poetry than loving it. But whether or not they realize it, poetry is around them everyday and influences their lives. Think of the many uses of poetry in popular culture: song lyrics, chants at protests, cheers at sporting events, movies (such as Lord of the Rings), literature, motivational posters, etc.

But I believe that each of us has poetry inside just bursting to get out. I believe the same thing about music and drawing and every other type of art. God created us to be creative beings. So why was poetry in the public school setting so difficult for most people? Because they were more concerned with us learning the rules of specific poetry than letting people be creative. I was never one for staying inside the lines and I do not advocate that in the educational setting. People need to have the freedom to express themselves through artistic endeavors.

So throw out the rules and just put down something on paper that expresses your feelings. Don't let poetry be such a chore. If you need some help in getting started, try some of these suggestions:

• Write down some rhyming words and say them aloud. Play around with the words as you try to speak in sentences until you start to sound like Dr. Seuss.
• Pick a favorite rhythm from a song you like and try to speak sentences to that rhythm. You do not have to use rhymes unless you want. Poetry does not have to rhyme and most modern rap songs only use occasional rhyme and the rhyming words do not always fall into the same rhythmic pattern (i.e. at the end of each phrase like in pop songs or hymns).
• Forget rhymes and rhythms and just write out a paragraph or two of your feelings using the most descriptive words you can imagine. This is perhaps the easiest style of poetry known as prose.

The important thing to remember about any type of artistic endeavor is your audience. If you are doing for your own enjoyment, then don't worry about what others think of your work. Especially your mom or those closest to you because they should be your biggest supporters regardless of how it turns out. If you are doing it to please God, and you give it your best, God will like it. If you want to sell it to a wishy-washy public, remember that the aesthetic nature of art is such that only certain people will like certain things.