The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines poetry as, “Writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm."

Now that definition is fine and dandy, but I like to use my personal definition. To me, poetry is an escape. It is a roller coaster ride that takes you through twists and turns into a different world. Poetry fills your body and soul with a euphoria that can only be explained through your work of art drawn onto the page with words, something that I would much rather refer to as descriptive emotions.

Poetry opens your eyes to a new outlook on the world. When I began writing poetry, my mind started to change its way of thinking. Instead of thinking, “Wow, that flower is pretty”, I would in turn think, “The sun beats down on the parched flower, yet it prevails and continues to bloom with every type of blue imaginable”. Now I know that sounds a little weird, but it’s like I had a whole new perspective on the beauty of life. It’s like I could explain anything I wanted and make it sound poetic.

One of my favorite thought processes while writing is to interpret what someone or something might think or do. It makes me appreciate the minds and talents of many walks of life, even material objects. Here’s one of my favorites:

The Bluebonnet

The bluebonnet danced in the wind

Knowing that one day its life must end.

But for that to happen, it must become

The most beautiful bluebonnet so that it will be done.

Its only wish is to be picked

By the most handsome gent in all the land.

For the most deserving lady of all time

To put a smile on her gorgeous lips.

The flower waited day and night.

Shining in the sun ever so bright.

And that’s when the bonnet saw him

Looking carefully for the win.

The bluebonnet bloomed as much as it could

In order to be plucked from the ground below.

To be placed in a bouquet of winners like him.

To be bunched together with grace and prim.

When he was lifted, the flower cried.

It hurt to be separated from the stem.

But it must be so, for the lovely lady.

So that she may smile and become his baby.

- Lillian Hill

I hope this article and my poetry inspires you to get in touch with your poetic side, however big or small it might be. And for others, may it inspire you to be brave and think differently from time to time.