16 Kasım 2008 Pazar

What is poetry?

Poetry is a means for poets to express themselves through their words. Its purpose is to evoke thought and emotion. Poetry opens our eyes in a different perspective: it allows us to view the same circumstances in a wider sense. It enlightens us. Poetry makes us think of things which we normally wouldn’t give a second thought to.
‘‘It is the light at the end of the tunnel and the darkness within it.’’ It confuses us sometimes but forces us to think more critically. Through poetry, one can come to realization of a certain issue. Poetry is expressing yearning for someone/something or just the appreciation of one’s surroundings. It is an imagined world where some things exist and others don’t. It also lets us understand what thoughts the poet may be trying to convey. Or it is the direct and harsh depiction of the world around us today. ‘‘Poems are lifesavers when your boat capsizes.’’ They let us create another world where it is our way out of the real world: our ticket to our idea of a dream world. Or sometimes they just make the truth seem more obvious. ‘‘It is a lighthouse moving its megaphone over the sea.’’ It acts as a savior for some of us: allows guidance and leads us in the right direction. Or sometimes when we are not able me to relate with the poem or the message the poet is trying to convey we think of poetry as ‘‘worth nothing and therefore invaluable.’’ Poetry means radical ideas: going against everyone else’s ideas, or bringing new ones to the table. ‘‘The poet a subversive barbarian at the city gates, challenging the status quo.’’ Poetry symbolizes originality. ‘‘The images in a poem should be jamais vu, not déjà vu.’’ Being the first to convey a certain message in a radical way is a way to establish enjoyable poetry.