Poetry is...

Poetry is
painting word pictures that sing
of laughter in your heart
or dirges about an absurd encounter
with fear of nothingness.

Poetry is
dancing with the language of life--
the tone, the tempo, the shades, the sounds of words,
whether it be a polka, a waltz, the grand ballet,
or a country hoedown,
with an allemande left and do-si-do.

Poetry is
a mason jar to capture
those fleeting moments in life,
like fireflies that flicker in the night
and then are gone:
the symphony crescendo of crimson and gold,
rising with the sun at dawn;
a lightning bolt of inspiration
that flashes while you stand in check-out line
at the grocery store;
the groaning of a cello
to represent the heartache of lost love;
the crunch of cinnamon raisin toast
with strawberry jam,
and the scrunch of boots in snow
on a frosty winter morn.

Poetry is
a prism that shines a different light
upon every speck of daily life:
the snap, crackle, pop in my joints
as I rise in the morning;
the glorious rainbow
emerging from Grandma's dishwater bucket.

Poetry is
all these things and so much more,
because each person brings
a different perspective forged
by a unique set of circumstances.

Author's note:

38 lines of Free Verse poetry, as described and demonstrated in the following link: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/free.html