Eleanor at You Lil Dickens posted Ask Yourself with the question “Why is Poetry important to you?” I answered:
Poetry expresses many things we cannot layout as plain thoughts, words or deeds. Poetry allows us to mask reality in mysterious verse, soften hard realities, drive home points that need to be made. We can expose our deepest secrets, friendly or foul, in abstruse rhymes and mysterious lines left to the reader to unfold, and decode. Poetry is an avenue to express our feelings about life and death, love and rejection, freedom and oppression, faithfulness and unfaithfulness, sexuality and abstinence, belief and unbelief, good and evil. Through poetry we can express all the symptoms, right and wrong, of being human.
Chuck, The Reluctant Poet, asked me to post it here.
Off Center & Not Even 
A special thank you to both of you gentlemen for reblogging and thoughtfully commenting on this question! I appreciate you!
There are so many things poetry can offer! As you so poignantly and concisely stated, it allows us to express ourselves in unique ways. Poetry can: Mask, Soften, Drive, Expose, Decode…
Well said, my friend!
You are welcome, Elenor. Thank you for posting thoughtful questions that are worth answering. Thank you, Chuck, for asking me to post my answer on my blog so you can share it.
It is a pleasure and a privilege.
Pleas. Keep coming up with thoughtful, engaging quesions.
Happy to do so!
You pretty well nailed it for how I feel about poetry, Tim. And I like the fact that each individual can come away with a different meaning from reading the same poem. Though, as poets, we may be infusing a poem with a personal meaning of our own, others can have a different takeaway. It’s all in the mind of the reader…
Thanks, KT. I agree. Like different ways of seeing, poetry has different ways of reading, understanding and interpreting. A poem evokes all kinds of different emotions depending on one’s state of mind, personal experiences and situation at any given time in any give space.
Yes!!
‘Through poetry we can express all the symptoms, right and wrong, of being human.’ So true. Great post.
Thanks, Shey.
All the symptoms indeed! Brilliantly said, my dear friend! Succinct feelings & thoughts. Beautiful post and ah, that photo!
Thanks, Marina. The photo was the day before the smoke descended on us chocking out our lovely painter.
I hope the smoke has dissipated!
The air index is still at 156 this morning. Unhealthy. I hope our painter can cough up some color this evening.
I hope so too. Our jumped over 300 at some point! I dread to think what it’s like in all those villages that are still burning!
You are an exquisite painter in photo and word, Tim.
Thanks, Lavinia.
That is an excellent answer to the question! And punctuated by that beautiful sky.
Thanks, Dale. Like I told Marina, the sky was the day before the smoke settle in choking out our painter.
Yes, I saw that (since I’m late to the party 😉 ) And I don’t use The Reader so I scroll down to comment 🙂
Good for you. WP is so flaky, I have to use the reader to comment on some sites.
Ugh. WP only gives me trouble with my cell now and again.
I never use WP on my phone.
I rarely do.
Fantastic! I love that you said, “Poetry allows us to mask reality in mysterious verse”. I’m no poet, but that line resonated!
Thanks, Tiffany. You paint your poetry on canvas, and mask reality in mysterious lines, colors and shapes.
A good question and great answer! “Poetry expresses many things we cannot layout as plain thoughts, words or deeds” and “Through poetry we can express all the symptoms, right and wrong, of being human” particularly resonated.
Thanks, JYP. I think you have that understanding.
Right on, Tim! and you should write on!
Unfortunately, poetry is a talent that evaded me all these years. Always appreciate those that can weave language.
You express your poetry in birding and ultra marthons. Thanks, Brian.
This is a marvelous answer, Tim. You have written exactly what I think and why I write poetry.
Thanks, Roberta. That means a lot coming from you.
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