What Is Poetry? ... Poem by Kenneth Maswabi

Poetry does not sleep
Not even when we are asleep
It is the server inside our dreams
And the river inside our lives
Poetry is a beautiful plateau
High above our everyday hustles
It is the valley inside our lonely moments
Poetry is a path through the tumultuous sea of life
A calm oasis beside the still waters of our being
Poetry is the naked fibre of our existence
Displayed on the canvas of life
With poetry, you have the tool to tell your stories
It is not just the latest adventures or victories
It is the brokenness and the painful moments
It is the smile that captivates even the toughest masculine ligaments
It is the flow of the feminine side of life
Into the crevices of the hardest moment
Poetry is not a bowl to pour scorn on others
It is a boat to put all your dreams in
And sail away into the vastness of existence
Poetry is an awakening of the fibre of being
An illumination of existence
A beautiful display of nothingness
Poetry awakens my being
Erecting an everlasting sense of peace, hope and happiness
Inside poetry, I am a lover, a dreamer and a nutcase
All of my inhibitions are erased
And my exhibition brightened
I am totally naked of any sense of fear
I am a garment that showcases all the stitches of love
I am a butterfly full of flight not fright
Poetry is a basket containing all of my dreams
A pillow on which I lay my head
Poetry is me unplugged
The bare fibres of my being displayed

©Kenneth Maswabi