I have never really considered myself much of a poetry lover, but the poem "The Fall of the Enclave" by Joe Johnson reminds me why I love it so much now. From beginning to end, the lines grabbed and held my attention, and with every word it got me thinking. At first, the poem left the impression of a simple, medieval story told in rhythmic verse, but after rereading the poem, I found that underneath the text was a deeper meaning that I hadn't realized before. 

  The poem tells of evil dragons who have struck the two stone towers of an enclave, their only intentions seeming to be to cause death and destroy the serenity of the enclave. "And saw the dragons in their flight...The knights became alarmed...The impact made an awful sound/The towers were its source." 

  I was quite amazed at the fantastic use of detail and vocabulary Joe had used in this piece, but I became even more astonished when it registered in my mind what the piece was truly about. I realized that two towers falling at the mercy of two malevolent dragons in flight seemed oddly familiar, and when I looked up the definition of enclave, I instantly knew: the poem is a metaphor for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

  Manhattan is most definitely an enclave, and the two stone towers being the twin towers. The fire-breathing dragons represent the planes that were hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the towers. 

  If this is true, the piece was beautifully done in any aspect and I applaud Joe, considering this is not an easy thing to do. And it shows how amazing poetry is that you can portray any story in any way with poetry. 

  We should all take time to appreciate poetry and poets, no matter if you are a writer or a reader!