WHY POETRY MATTERS

It would be quite easy for you to see poetry as an art form to be irrelevant.  Many see art as excessive, unnecessary, and a waste of time, money and resources especially when its compared to the social ills, deprivation and injustices taking place around the world. Many question whether poetry really add meaning and beauty to life or is it us who add meaning and beauty to poetry. Thus many dismiss its significance and miss the point of this art form. Poetry exposes and helps us resolve issues of social injustice, it helps humanize and realize the emotions, grievances and fears of those who lack place or opportunity to voice concerns. Poetry is the human voice that moves us, shake us, shock or inspire us to action. If we look back in history, we’ll see that art and especially poetry has always been deeply rooted in activism or social change

The past centuries are prevalent with examples of poets finding voice in circumstances that by all rights should have silenced them. Poetry does that, giving you the power to speak, digging through your silent screams, gathering self and finding form even when it seems impossible to do so. It gives you that voice to speak when you feel like you’ve lost your voice and makes the world listen. It shows you things that would normally go unnoticed, exposing the beauty hidden behind the dark and ugly in the world. Poetry says to you, you matter; you’re important even if no one else think so. It crawls into your soul and brings out your deepest emotion, that which you thought it was impossible to find words for.

Poetry says to you in the richest of language, something is wrong let’s change it for   the better. The world teaches us to hide our thought, our emotions, build our protective armour and hideaway our feelings, hide our selves, .but poetry allows you to strip through all of that and be incredibly vulnerable and human. And it’s not a vulnerability that makes you soft or weak but one that gives you real strength. That is why poetry is necessary, irreplaceable and of inherent value. It teaches us to notice things; it beautifies our language and enriches our communication. Rather than say “I became fearful,” poetry says “fear took hold of me or I crawled back into the safety of my skin”. It finds a way to place value, on the dignity, specificity and beauty of our individual lives. 

Also, writing poetry can be a form of therapy as it gives you the ability to express yourself   and process your feelings through the written word. Paul Engle said “Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Ninth power".  Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions; all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.” It makes the ordinary extraordinary, and brings newness to common mundane things. Through the power of its rich artistic language; poetry is able to transcend barriers of creed, class or race and make a difference, because Poetry speaks for all. Poetry reminds us what it is to be human it gives breath and life to the longing, thoughts and ideas that had died inside us and cause us to dream again. It makes us see  more clearly, feel more deeply, live more fully. Poetry fulfills in us not just the need to speak but that human need to sing, this is the power of poetry, this is why poetry matters. 

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POETRY IS LIFE AND LIFE IS POETRY