Poetry: The greatest freedom words will ever have
It’s poetry month. Take time for a poetry break. Why does poetry matter? Poetry is the literary equivalent of a microcosm and a sound bite all rolled into one. You can find tiny representations of huge ideas and short snippets that resonate and “stick” in your mind like the smell of your favorite cookie baking or the horror of watching Kevin Ware’s basketball injury last weekend. Poetry is distilled insights and sensations not designed to meet a standard or a bottom line. Poetry is the greatest freedom words will ever have.
If you teach math, poetry is the equivalent to the equation you extract from an elaborate word problem.
If you are a scientist, poetry is the DNA that tells a full-blown experience of life how to grow and thrive.
If you are an artist, poetry is the three primary colors we use to express endless pictures through words.
If you are a musician, poetry is your lyrics, your melody, and your counterpoint. Poetry conducts the orchestra of our minds.
If you are an engineer, poetry is the perfect schematic with projections from every angle, forming a three dimensional reality much greater than the sum of its succinct pieces.
If you are a child, poetry is curiosity and music bouncing together.
If you are a pragmatist, poetry is a frivolous moment that suddenly strikes you with meaning.
If you are a gym teacher, poetry is the fluid combination of the word skills that move beyond drill to a slam dunk.
If you are a historian, poetry is the artifact that tells the story of a lost civilization.
When did you last share a poem with your class? You have 17 school days left.
