Try Poetry

Have you tried poetry lately? If you don't like poetry—try it. It's good for you. Just one bite. You might like it. Poetry is like spinach and beans and kale with much less gas. If you love poetry, like I do. If you haven't written a poem in a while, like I haven't. Write one. Just pick a time today, say 10:00 am or 1:12 pm or 7:08 pm. Put it in your calendar. Schedule a poem and you just might write one. Allot yourself 15 minutes for a "Poetry Meeting." Stand up or sit down. Stop what you're doing or continue to pretend you’re doing something important. Don't try to rhyme. Just write like nobody's reading. Write a few thoughts on paper or type them into your phone--your computer--about your life at that very moment. Love it? Hate it? Sad about it? Excited about it? Not sure about it? Not sure about anything? What thought keeps popping up, worrying you, distracting you. Put it to rest with poetry. Walk through your thoughts and simply put them down. Don't think too much. Just splatter it down. Try to use primary colors. Keep things raw and perfectly ripe. Are those opposites? Work out the answer in a poem.When your "meeting" is over—put it away. Polish it up later. Maybe schedule that "Polish Poetry Meeting" now too. Then put a poetry contest into your calendar. Enter one or two or all of them. Try it. Just try. Poetry! Link to poetry contest details on The Room to Write's website at: http://www.theroomtowrite.com/the-writing/contests--submissions (Warning: There are two different Naomi Cherkofsky poetry contests. Yes, it is very confusing, but feel free to enter both. The mailing addresses are different. So--pay close attention to submission details for each.:)