 Poetry: August 13, 2025 Issue [#13284] |
This week: Join the Conversation Edited by: Brooke is plotting.  
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| According to Wikipedia, Poetry (from the Greek word poiesis, "making") is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings. Thank you for reading this NL. |
Have you ever been asked to talk about poetry? In conversations, some people treat it as an untouchable art form to be put on a pedestal, and not enough people describe it in the easy, meandering language of conversation, where poetry is at its best. Poetry, despite its reputation for being complicated or elite, is perhaps the most democratic of art forms—a place where anyone with a feeling, a thought, or a moment’s pause can find a voice.
Some people avoid poetry because they fear they won’t “get it.” This fear is understandable, given the way poetry is sometimes described, like it’s a riddle to be solved, with a single correct interpretation. But to me, poetry has more in common with a playground than a puzzle. There are as many ways to write a poem as there are readers to enjoy them. What matters is not whether you solve the poem’s meaning, but whether it moves you.
While there are forms like sonnets, villanelles, and haiku that come with rules and traditions, some of the most powerful poems break the rules altogether. E. E. Cummings twisted syntax and punctuation to create new rhythms. Spoken word poets like Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye blur the line between poetry, theater, and music. In the 21st century, poetry exists in all forms, including tweets, text messages, graffiti, and song lyrics.
So, what I prefer to tell people is to approach poetry with curiosity rather than caution. We should read with not just an open mind but an open heart, knowing that some poems will resonate and others won’t. There is nothing wrong with a poem just because it doesn’t resonate with every single reader. That, too, is part of the conversation.
This is what makes poetry universal and why it is so popular. It can be as formal as T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” or as off-the-cuff as a note left on a kitchen table. It can be political or deeply personal—or both at once. If you have ever written a poem, even a bad one, you are part of the conversation. If you have pressed a line of poetry into someone’s hand or copied a stanza onto a sticky note, you are keeping the flame alive. The conversation of poetry is vast and ongoing, echoing across centuries and continents. It is a conversation that welcomes all, regardless of language, background, or education.
So, let’s keep talking. Let’s read poems aloud, write them on sidewalks, share them with friends, and with strangers. Let’s argue about what they mean and explore what they do not. Let’s remember that poetry belongs not to the few but to the many. In the end, poetry is not just words on a page. It is a living pulse, a connective tissue, a way of bringing meaning to a world that so often resists it. And I believe, as long as we are willing to listen—and to speak, the conversation will never end.
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Please enjoy this week's highlighted work. Drop them a review if you have the time!
A poet sat alone one night
and thought about his dreams.
He thought about his plans for life;
his foolish little schemes.
Why must I be the weed?
Can’t I be fed and watered?
Trimmed nicely and facing the sun.
Nurtured like I mattered.
The official unknown blends with minutiae
Whose existing answers I never sought -
Skills upgrades online I never bought
Arts I never finessed even if I could have
In endless inertia, because why would it matter anyway?
Iowa farm girl with eyes of brightest blue
So much to us all, we will always miss you
Your smile warmed our lives forever
Your heart as big as the sky
Spirit bright and shining, a light that will not die
Residents of illusion
Owners of my soul
Creatures of confusion
Who are waiting at call
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