April is National Poetry Month

As a creative person who believes in the healing power of expressing emotion through the arts, I find poetry to be a fascinating outlet.  If you think that poetry is boring or difficult to understand, try to forget about the difficult prose taught in dusty textbooks and look at the poetry of today.  The most common form is found in the lyrics of many popular songs.  One of the best aspects of poetry is the lack of rules.  Although some poems, such as the Haiku, have a particular structure, the poet can choose a free form text to express their thoughts.

As a child I was particularly fond of the silly ramblings of Shel Silverstein.  One of my favorites is:

In Search of Cinderella

From dusk to dawn,
From town to town,


Without a single clue,
I seek the tender, slender foot


To fit this crystal shoe.


From dusk to dawn,
I try it on


Each damsel that I meet.


And I still love her so, but oh,
I've started hating feet.

When working as a mentor with Free Arts, I frequently encouraged my kids to express their feeling in word pictures.  One poem that struck me was written by…

Evans, Age 9
I think about my mom and sister.  Beautiful like a flower.
I think about what I want.  I want to create robots.  I want my own room.  I want to get better at math.
I think about what I need.  I need a family.
I think about what I fear.  I fear heights.  A little bit.
I think about what I wish for.  I wish I had a family.  I wish I was a professional soccer player.  I wish to have a good paying job.
I think about what I hope for.  I hope to find a good family.
I think about what I expect.   I expect to have a good family that loves me.
I think about what I love.  I love my mom and candy.

So find a comfy sofa and sit down with a book of poetry or if you are creative, write one of your own.

Get creative!

Krista Wanous
Miss International 2012