Poems
Poems in the classroom are not embraced with open arms when compared to other language arts mediums like books. I can not recall liking the process of learning about poems. I felt that there was always the contradiction that teachers presented to us, they said that poems are relevant to the reader and the writer and when asked to tell what the poem was about, what it meant to me was wrong.
Like many students, my first fact about poems was that they had to rhyme. I learned however, that such a fact was fiction. I thought the poems were just like very old songs lyrics without the music. Song lyrics were poems I could relate to because music is an essential part of my life. As my musical knowledge increased, my exposure to poetry increased as well. I started to see how songs lyrics did not all the time rhyme and noticed that poems did not have to rhyme either.
I have gained a greater appreciation for poems as of late, because I write songs myself. I see it as an art form different from novels or books, because it is the goal of the poet to convey a message in s manner shorter and more abstract that the writer of a novel. If the poet is really superb then the poem itself comes to life.
I really enjoyed reading your connection to writing songs and lyrics…I agree, lyricists are poets, right?