Potpourri: Don't Call it Poetry

Throughout her life the poet found that many people shy away from poetry. They say they don’t like it; they don’t understand it; they are afraid of it. Poetry is as popular as a rattlesnake. The poet studied poetry in high school and college and has written poetry for fifty years. Naturally, one’s mind and heart grow and change over time. All of us evolve. The poet certainly has, and still does. In reading the oldest poems written, there is a young girl’s innocence in some, yet a remarkable maturity and wisdom in others. Poems are not differentiated as to age when written. Surely the reader may be able to do that, but maybe not. Poetry is what one wants it to be. This poetry is not written in any accepted or expected style. Rather, it was written purely for the poet herself. She wrote as a method of sharing thoughts, experiences, dreams, images, senses, feelings, memories. Some recollections were her own, and some belong to those who shared theirs with her. Some poems are mental exercises woven onto paper, while others are dreams caught before the poet truly woke. Her writing may not be poetry, but it is honest, and it is authentic. Poetry is what you want it to be. If you feel it, it is real. Just read aloud from line to line just as you would a book. It’s not fancy, it’s Potpourri.