Recently I relearned about poetry in school.
My english teacher said that free verse poetry
Requires many things, but one struck me.
It didn't strike me well at all.
She said that free verse requires flow.
A general rhythm behind each line
To keep the reader going.
And yet, look at almost every single
Poem I've ever written.
I've simply cut off a line and started another
When I feel that line is too long.
There is no rhythm involved whatsoever
In the formulating of my poetry.
So perhaps she was right,
And I'm simply in a whole other genre
Of poetry altogether.
Perhaps I've created a new genre
In which countless others will follow.
I suppose many others have already
Written many poems like this,
So this most likely is a path
Well-worn by the feet of many a traveller.
I have such a problem figuring out
How to end a poem, and so I
Just cut it off, or at least that's how I feel.
I just stop where I am and save the poem.
I never change or make any alterations.
When I do that, I know the
Spring of inspiration within me
Has run dry, as of that moment.
Inspiration returns at a later date,
But for just then, the well is empty.
And I find that...I feel that sad
Doesn't do it justice. I can't find the right word.
I'm groping in the darkness.
Maybe I'll find the right word sometime,
But not today.