Classic Poem

Poetry is not a certain this or a certain that.
With or without rhyme. Beat or academic.
Uplifting or depressing.
Accessible or obscure.

Poetry is all.

At its heart, simply, a condensed form.
Free to violate the strict rules of prose.
Free to explore the subterranean
Passage of mind and soul.

We must allow it to be
Whatever it needs to be.
Only then will we realize
The vitality of its song.


(Previously published in The Poet's Porch, Aug.2000)