Expressively Yours

Joseph Morse of Funk and Wagnall’s defines poetry as "been imaginative literature." Such a definition seems to have derived from the views of the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who considered poetry as mere imitation of actions. But to say that poetry is mere imitation of actions is to understate its true creative qualities. It should be farther explained that poetry is also the spirit of actions. True, there are some poetic works that imitate some actions, but there are also actions that are direct results of the aesthetic value of some poetry.

Poetry is as much a product of imagination as any form of art is. The potentials of art start there. From the imaging faculty of the mind the aesthetic form of art is seen, felt, or heard. It could be music, literature or design; which ever the artist’s talent is.

Poetry falls in the category of expression, representing in words of rhythmic balance something that manifest, embody, or symbolize something else. That "something else" could be the beauty of the alder swamp as in Robert Frost’s "A winter Eden"; the philosophy of parenthood as in Kahlil Gibran’s "On Children"; or the spirited adventure of a pilot as in John Magee Jr.’s "High Flight." From the aesthetic aura of either of these pieces of poetry, one may very well feel the motivating force of its spiritual aspiration, and find a felicitous resort in its romantic mode of serenity. Then, there are the positive aspects of poetry, which inspires one to experience the tangible realities of being, both, spiritual soul and a sensuous human.

From the very moment I began to realize the expressive power of Poetry, I treated it as an essential substance of the human value system, and accepted it as elemental to the didactic process of experiencing the beauty of the mind. And too, its informative qualities are morally generating, and religiously enlightening, bringing the mind to understand the infinite power of simple metrical rhythm of dramatic involvement