Why Poetry?

I'm excited to be able to join many other teachers nationwide this April to celebrate National Poetry Month by reading, writing, and workshopping each others' poetry, guided by Christopher Lehman in our #TeacherPoets hashtag on Twitter and our TeacherPoets circle on Google+.

Our first assignment for session one was to answer the question, "Why Poetry?"

Because

by Jessica Wisniewski

Photographs aren't the only snapshots.

I want to save this moment

But prose requires padding

So much extra

That the sleekness of a moment

is lost

in a blanket of stuffy

packing peanut words.

Moments that are glints

of melted butter sunlight

in verse

are smothered by the 

superfluous necessities

of prose.

This moment finds

a home

on  welcoming page.

Vast waterfall collages

of emotion,

memory,

nostalgia,

Distilled into bright,

sharp facets

that reflect our liquid lives.

Filling our square holes.

Grasp and hold that moment.

Examine and taste.

Sniff and consider.

Admire or dismiss.

Take a snapshot of my soul's life,

And you will find poetry.