Anyone Can Be a Poet

While anyone can be a poet,
most of us will never know it.
School has taught us, with a meanness,
we can’t have that sort of genius.

But every child can make some art,
for all are born with mind and heart.
They start creative, knowing naught
of possible or must or ought.

This is why I ask young children
whether they've yet used God given
talents to make their first poem.
At that age, the spark's still growing.

What's it take to be a poet?
Your vocabulary: Grow it!
You need to know the just right word.
With any else, the sense is blurred.

Read anything that can be read:
Solidify your word wiz cred.
Focus on creative fiction.
Free yourself of thought restriction.

Read a lot of other poets.
Learn all the precepts, although it's
also vital to know just why
and when and how they don't apply.

Above all, nourish confidence.
Have some faith in your immense
capacity to love and feel
what, to others, is true and real.

Sit down and write, and when you're done,
revise and edit, have some fun.
Just beware of this issue:
Perhaps no one will publish you!

But you bear God's image proper,
so you have His imprimatur
to create, like Him, whenever
you like. Enjoy the endeavor.

Copyright ©2018, Paul H. Harder II

This poem is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 License.