Common misconceptions: a poem

There are some things you may not know
when it comes to poetry –
a few misconceptions
that may discourage some from reading
(or writing).
 
So let me set the record straight
on just a few of these –
 
You don’t have to be
Shakespeare
or W. B. Yeats
to write a bit of poetry.
 
You don’t have to be
a scholar
or a romantic sap
to read poetry.
 
Poetry doesn’t have to be
an endless column of lines
that just reach
on
and on
and
on,
covering
page
after page
after
page,
thick chunks of text, lengthy lines of prose-like poetry that
flow in one long uninterrupted stanza of flourishing, flowery
language that can make it hard to figure out
what exactly is being said.
(Which is yet another misapprehension:
the conviction that poesy demands to be composed
using grandiloquent vocabulary –
in that regard, thou art mistaken.)
 
Nor does poetry need
              least amount
     words possible.
 
Poetry can speak directly –
say exactly what’s meant.
Or a chicken can speak
for a donkey
(I’ll let the ants speak
for themselves).
 
Not all poetry has to rhyme –
or, at least, not all the time.
(Once you start you’ll have no peace
because once you start it’s hard to cease!)
 
A haiku doesn’t
have to be three separate
ideas or phrases.
 
You can have more than
one, as well, put together
to make one poem.
 
“There once was a man from Nantucket...”
(Does anyone actually know
the rest of this poem?
I don’t.)
 
Now let’s talk about the poem above – a limerick.
The fact that they’re dirty is a frequent gimmick;
but they don’t have to be,
they’re often just funny,
whichever you choose to create is your pick.
 
I’ve rambled on
too far, I know –
I’m surprised you’ve
stuck with me this far.
 
For that I say “Thanks!”
and I hope you enjoyed
learning the truth about poetry
from the method I employed.

(See! I’m rhyming again!
It’s hard to stop!)
 
 
Kathleen
 
a.k.a. the girl who had a lot of fun writing this poem (but had a very hard time not rhyming the entire thing)