Poetry Poem by Akara K.

What is poetry?
Poetry is many things
But there are far more things that poetry is not
Poetry is not a style of writing
Poetry is not a rhyme or a limerick
Poetry is not something you can read
Poetry isn't just seen or heard, but seen, heard, and felt
What is poetry, then?
I can't tell you that, no one can
But you can only know
And even then you can't tell anyone what poetry is
Because poetry isn't words
Poetry is a feeling you get in your chest
Poetry is a chill that runs through your body
Poetry is a knife that slices your soul
Poetry is experienced from within
If something rhymes and it makes sense
It may be a poem
But it isn't poetry
Can you hear your soul calling out to you?
That is poetry
Can you feel the tightness in your chest, the squeezing of your heart?
That is poetry
A boy and girl at the edge a cliff, dangerously close, leaning over the edge
Their arms outstretched, they soar
They can fly anywhere without ever leaving their perch
The sound of a flute and swirling colors
Reds, blues, greens, white and black
Harmony, a sound that goes straight through you
The midnight sky with stars that speak
What they whisper in your ear is faint
But even if you can't hear it, if you can feel it, it is poetry
A solitary wolf bounding through a forest
So graceful, paws that never touch the ground
Eyes shining brighter than the sun
The movements of the human body
Muscles within neck, arms, legs
The body is living poetry
Flex your fingers
How do they move?
Every part of you, poetry in itself
The wind blowing through an open window
Moist breeze that dampens your face, your bed
The moonlight shining through
Is poetry
But this is hardly poetry, what you read now
Because poetry isn't words
Poetry isn't what you see or hear
It is what you feel
Poetry is what you believe
What you are