I won’t lie; when I first started learning about poetry in school I absolutely hated it. I refused to try to understand and interpret any poem that was put in front of me. When I started to read poetry on my own I really saw how beautiful it was. I had to find things I love by actually putting in some effort. I bought a few books and finished almost all of them in one sitting each. I would read them wherever I got the chance -- work, home, or on the beach. I honestly feel as though everyone should read a good poetry book now and then, or even just a poem a day. Here are five reasons you should pick up a poetry book and read it.
1. It makes you think.
When I read a poem, it makes me think deeper than most pieces of literature I have read. Some poems are simple and easy to understand while others you won’t even understand after the fifth time you have read them. Among all of the great things about poetry, the one I love the most is that everyone will interpret it differently. Everyone has different thoughts, life experiences, and perspectives and when you apply that to poetry it becomes one big messy, beautiful interpretation.
2. It makes you feel.
Poetry gets me very emotionally invested. I apply anything I read to my life and I love when a poem really speaks to me. Sometimes I find poetry that I feel was written for me personally. It hits so close to home that you cannot help but feel some type of emotion. A lot of people might say that they don’t want to read poetry because it makes them sad. I say do it anyway because it is perfectly okay to feel sad and you can find just as many poems that make you happy!
3. It gives you a different perspective on life.
As stated previously, everyone interprets poetry in a different way. I love to hear what other people think a poem means. I find that reading a poem I cannot relate to helps me see how others view the topic. Love, for example, is a very common theme in poems. Many people at my age have experienced some type of love, whether it is romantic or not. There are times when I am so narrow-minded on the subject and then I read a poem and it completely changes my mind.
4. You can read it over and over.
I could practically memorize certain poems because I love them so much. Poetry is something that doesn’t get old. Sometimes I even get chills re-reading an old favorite. Poetry is kind of like music – there are poems (just like there are songs) that become meaningful to you and you could read them again and again.
5. You can write your own poems.
I’m not quite sure if this happens with most people that get into poetry, but it made me want to write. There are readers and writers in the world and sometimes you get lucky enough to be both. When you see poets pour their emotion into a piece of literature it makes you want to do the same. I like to write poems just for myself to look back on whenever I need a pick-me-up. I tried the whole “spoken word” thing, but it didn’t work for me (spoken word is performance-based poetry). You won't know if it will work for you until you try -- so give it a shot!
