What’s your favorite genre to read? While all literature has unique qualities, poems stand out as a type of literature that captures you with a timeworn feel that echoes tales of anything from romances to tragedy. Poems are ruminative by design, well acquainted with the author’s deep, unfolding emotions. They provide a space for perfect expression, saturated with the sentiment and soulful resonance anyone can feel. While poems are a beautiful embodiment of embers of the past, sometimes you need to let them go to find a new poem inside of you. Our friends here at iUP have some thoughts on poetry and some poems of their own that they would like to share!

Poems have a unique ability to express emotion as opposed to other literature types. One of our friends shared their thoughts about this topic, saying, “I think poems get to the point, because you aren’t constrained by the expectations of other forms of writing. You just say what you want to say. I love them for that reason.” I love the depth and pithy of this statement, and it’s very accurate. Tenth grader Autumn Friesenhahn, shares with us that she believes, “Sometimes, regular writing works too. I will say that when regular writing evokes strong emotion it often uses concepts from poetry like figurative language or rhythm.” This is such an interesting realization! She put together that when other literature has an emotional feel, it adopts the same literary devices found most commonly in poetry. 

You may be wondering: How do people write beautiful poems about the emotions conveyed in these poems all the time? The simple answer is: They don’t! While some people have a gift of being excellent with the expression of words, most people only write when they feel strongly about a topic. This was the reasonable consensus. When asked if they write poems often, ninth grader Rebecca Daulton, said, “No, I feel there’s a certain mindset you have to be in to write a good poem.” This idea was solidified when another of our friends, prompted by the same question, said “Yeah! I write poems often, but usually in short bursts and then I won’t write much for a week or two. That’s just how my brain works.” Overall, if you don’t pump out poems on the daily, that’s okay and very common, but if you do, kudos to you, that’s awesome! No matter who you are, you can probably relate to the fact that sometimes, the best way to move on from someone or something is to let go. Since poems hold so much heartfelt emotion, sometimes you need to take a moment and read a poem for the last time and leave it behind. 

Now, let’s show you the poems our friends at iUP were gracious enough to share! Who knows, maybe you’ll be inspired to let go of a feeling to unlock another, much like our participants. Or maybe you’ll just be prompted to create a masterpiece of your own!

By Anonymous 

Jog in the race, but wouldn’t be better, 

if you were a pacesetter.

Wear the trendy nails, but wouldn’t be better

if you were a trendsetter.

Send a text, but wouldn’t it be better 

if you sent a love letter.

        “I Hope You Know”

            By Anonymous

You think you had the last laugh,

the last words.

In your mind, you were the warrior who bravely crushed the enemy.

In your mind, I never said anything – because I was already defeated

And it is true that the words would not come out

but in my mind, you just ran away from your problems

leaving me to respect your wishes, wishes disguised as attacks  

and I hope you know, and I think you do, that I would still talk to you

but you move on to the next battlefield instead

hoping to never see my face again

even though you know I live

only three doors down.

      By Autumn Friesenhahn 

Oh! My love has not returned to me

Despite effort whence I bade them stay

For a fortnight I mourned this loss from me

Yet now the sun is risen on a new day

Though their words were few and meekly said

Their soul shone through and made clear their loving part

But chance not given to profess my dread

They left before I might bid them my heart

I remember them when found is a pair

Whom capture the love I hope to achieve

My love with breaking beauty we might share

Is known to me as my earthly reprieve

So I await their second coming here

As I hope for the grace which brings them near.

By Anonymous 

You promised you’d be there forever, 

Though forever is vain when infinity

Looks like an hourglass.

Promises are made benevolent,

But benevolence isn’t enough.

Time moves arcanely, 

Slipping through a point unseen, 

You never know,

When it will suddenly stop.

Often your time is cut short;

You ache for more,

Yearning for something,

Painfully just out of reach,

Filled with disgust for the fool,

Ungrateful and ignorant of the time they once had, 

Finally, you flip the hourglass,

Hoping for a different ending, 

But reading the same book, 

Won’t change how it ends. 

By Reccaba Daulton

a black butterfly is following me.

Everywhere I go, there’s a butterfly.

it’s always black, but what does this mean?

Does the psyche have a plan for me?

Sometimes it’s accompanied with an orange butterfly.

They seem to like each other, they go out a lot.

Is this symbolism?

Am I one of the butterflies?

maybe psyche has a plan,

and these butterflies have to do with it.

I just need to hang in there,

and see what happens.

   By Anonymous 

I’ve seen this all before.

distant conversations

playful blushing on a certain day

statues by a church as you drive on home.

I’ve known this all before.

lips I’ve tasted, but will never taste again

skin I’ve felt, but will feel no more

present becoming memory in front of your eyes

I’ve felt this all before.

the outlines of a hand long gone

smell of perfume as she leans against me

knowing it won’t last, but entertaining it still

I’ve lived this all before.

a childlike game, but I’ve lost my affection 

the mirror offers only as you see it

statues outside of cemetery gates.

but the gates have closed;

What will be inscribed on my tombstone?

I am so thankful for the participants who let us see their writing! Often, you never know what you feel until you write it out. Overall, poems are a great way to express yourself, but a lot of the time you need to let go of feelings to move on, and that first step is writing it out! We got to see the finished product, so thank y’all again for that opportunity, y’all did great!