By Madeline Holl - September 17, 2022

With illustrations: "How to know a poem: First, you have to find a poem that you'd like to know. If you don't have one already, then you'll have to look. Luckily, the poets have written about everything, so it isn't too hard to find something interesting. Knowing a poem is comparable to knowing a person. You could ask them a million questions, but..."

 

Illustrations with text: "if you never watch them in quiet observation, or hug them, or look into their eyes for a long time, then you could miss an important feeling. If you ask a poem too many questions, you might miss an important feeling. Time will come to make sense of it, but he will not haste, and he will wait until you have read it a few times. You could read it in the morning or read it at night. Or on the kitchen floor with a friend or a lover. Read it in bed, laying upside down, or sitting upright. In the shower, or..."

 

Illustrations with text: "Truly, poetry is no mysterious thing, though it may come from a mysterious place. It tells the secrets of our hearts, and sometimes seems to touch the truth. To do this, poetry must go beyond. Beyond the formulas and structure of everyday language to make a special form of expression based in symbolism, rhythm, imagery, metaphor, and repetition. Poetry is not a language which is fixed, but changes like a tree through the seasons of time, and feeling, and collective need..."

 

Illustrations with text: "It is a language of our hearts, so it is one of the easiest languages to learn. You'll learn the most from reading a lot. From reading outside with the trees and the birds. From going back to the kitchen floor with your friend or your lover to read it again. You'll learn the most about a poem from letting it make you cry."

 

 

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