What do you consider a poem to be? Does something like William Carlos Williams' "This Is Just To Say" constitute a poem, or does it need to be something a little meatier, if you get my drift?
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ANSWERS: 4
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Poetry, like other art forms, can be just about anything.
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i feel that if it comes from the heart it can be a poem feelings on paper can form into a poem??!!
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As debodun said, poetry can be about anything. Nursery rhymes are poems, as are those four lines in a Hallmark card written by someone getting paid by the word. What do I consider a poem to be? Personally, words written in verse (free or otherwise). I think the oral nature of it (i.e. what it sounds like read aloud) is what makes it poetic. As for "This is just to say" - of course it's a poem. Read it out loud and listen to the balance between the phrases: I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold
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Basically, I consider anything a poem if it's written in "lines" and maybe verses, rather than paragraphs. Though many would say it should be minimalistic in words, I don't believe that's necessarily so. And, in some cases, there's topography involved in poetry... For example (in a type-written page, or fixed font, it would translate, better:) HowS ...Q ERAU SQU Y.A L.R ......I...........I............A or R.....P.....L.....N......W.....T.....R ............P...........G ...........E (assume periods are spaces) Cut and paste the above lines into something like Notepad, with Courier or Courier New font)
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