Quite Possibly a Very Boring Post

You totally decided to read this because you want to see if it's actually boring, didn't you? HAHAAAA NAILED IT!

Seriously though.

So guys. April is National Poetry Month. WAIT DON'T GO! I feel it is my duty as an English major to mention this to you, even though...well...don't judge me, okay? I kind of hate poetry.

Okay, "hate" is a strong word. And if you include all forms of poetry under that umbrella of "hate," then it's totally not true. We'll just say poetry isn't really my thing in the stereotypical sense of the word. For instance, I am absolutely not the kind of person to sit down and read a bunch of poems. They all start to run together, and then even the good ones get hidden. And those old ones that are all about nature...to me, it's like, "Okay, dude. One nature poem was good; now you just sound high." Wordsworth?! *sigh* I really like the poem about the daffodils. But I just finished a British literature course and I swear we spent half the semester reading (A) Wordsworth, or (B) another poet writing about Wordsworth. I am not making this up. We did eventually cover some good stuff; but we could have spent a few of those weeks talking about Oscar Wilde or Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens or George Orwell or...well, anyone but Wordsworth, really.

And it is noteworthy that music is poetry. And good lyrics are hard to beat. Okay, some are better than others; and I've about had it up to here (gestures to eye-level) with pop music these days, filled with whiners groaning baby, baby, baby or WEEEE...are NEver EVer EVer...geting BAAAACK toGETHERRRR... Oh, and can I get a shout-out for Pit Bull, who taught us that "Kodak" rhymes with "Kodak"? Seriously. Even in music, there is good poetry and bad poetry; it's just that music has the saving grace of a melody (unless the melody also sucks).

BUT...poetry does have its place. Most of it, I will admit, is in music. But I will not say that poetry is pointless; some people lap it up like water. I am blatantly not one of those people; but every so often I hear a verse and think yes! Get it! And this leads me to today's list...

10 Poems Actually Worth Reading (according to someone who generally dislikes poetry)

1. "Agua Noche" (English version "Water Night") by Octavio Paz. This one is even about nature! Although I cheated a little on this one; the first time I ever heard the words of this poem was in a musical composition by Eric Whitacre. He used the English translation of this poem for his choral piece "Water Night." The words are truly beautiful; and it's a short poem, swallowable in one gulp. I would also suggest you all go listen to the Eric Whitacre composition. BUT...read the poem first.
2. "Masks" by Shel Silverstein. Who didn't love Shel Silverstein poems as a child??? I had (still have) two of his books and I loved them. He writes the silliest rhymes; but they're things not just anyone would think of. Then every so often, he throws in a poem like "Masks" that actually has a serious moral to it. I love this poem, and it's so short that I actually have it memorized. And, just because Shel Silverstein poems are made much better by the original Shel Silverstein illustrations, here you go: 
   
3. "The Voice," also by Shel Silverstein. This one is especially good for those of us who have no idea what we're going to do with our lives. It might be a little bit cheesy, but it's also a little bit awesome.
4. "El Dorado" by Edgar Allan Poe. It's spooky, like many of his works, but not overly so. (That TOTALLY rhymes!!!) This one's also pretty short; so if you were picturing something as menacing as "The Raven," you can breathe more easily. A suggestion--and this might sound a teensy bit lame, but I'm throwing it out anyway--I really like to read Poe's poetry aloud. The dude had a way with words--meaning even if you can't actually understand what he's trying to say (because that happens sometimes...or maybe a lot), the vocabulary sounds absolutely beautiful when spoken. If you're really bored, give it a try.
5. "A Person/A Paper/A Promise" by Dr. Earl Reum. This poem was emphasized in the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It's a little morbid, and does not have a happy ending. But sometimes...well, sometimes the most beautiful endings (in literature, at least) are not the happiest ones. I appreciate the structure of this poem and, well, if you read it I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
6. "In Flanders Fields" by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. Okay, I cheated again. This has also been set to music--a few times, I think--and my choir sang this song in high school. You know, sometimes you need to hear something set to notice the beauty of the words. The author, a Canadian military physician, wrote this after the death of a friend and fellow soldier in World War I. It makes you think. I'm just saying. 
7. "Ode" by Arthur O'Shaughnessy. I know the title is not especially exciting; but this is where I emphasize that if you are only to read one poem from this entire list...okay, I'd probably suggest "Masks" because it's really short and it's right there. But after that, I'd tell you to read this one. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever read, and it's also where we get the term "movers and shakers" (in case you were really curious where that phrase came from). I can't begin to do this poem justice in one tiny section of one tiny blog post, so you're just going to have to look it up. At the very least, read the first stanza. It's my favorite.
8. "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. This one is also short enough that, well, at one point in time I had it memorized. I don't think I have the order quite right anymore. But it's awesome; one of my all-time faves. It's sassy. It's terse. It makes you want to skip school and play pool. And, if you're not into poetry either, it'll take you about thirty seconds to read if you're a slow reader.
9. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost. Okay, one last cheat; but this one isn't really a cheat. Eric Whitacre, the composer mentioned in poem #1, based another of his compositions on this poem. He revised the poem to flow better in choral music and named it "Sleep." I love this poem, though. It's eerie, but not the bad kind of eerie. Like the title implies: It's that sense of wonder you find when you're walking through the secluded darkness in the wintertime, the snow crunch-crunching beneath your feet. And you're getting sleepy, but you can't sleep yet. I love it. Also, I think it's one of my mom's favorites.
10. "Harlem" by Langston Hughes. It's short. It's inspirational. It has some imagery you will never get out of your head. It's everything a poem ought to be. 

Phew! I'm not going to make you go down the list and read all these poems. But if you do read some of them or have anything to say about them, you should totally comment and tell me about it. Also, if you have other poems in mind that you think are worthwhile...do share.

And next time, I'll cut to the chase and do a music blog.