I’ve never been a big fan of authority, so I like that all of the “rules” of writing don’t really apply to poetry. You can use punctuation to your liking, perhaps even misuse grammar for effect, and let your sentences be too short, or run on and on and on. You can use as many descriptive words as you like; you’re meant to paint a picture using words, to tell a story. I love that poetry allows for abstract creative expression using language alone. Simply put, it’s a really beautiful art form to me.

I’ve looked up to poet Mary Oliver (who was also born in the suburbs of Cleveland, OH) ever since I was lent her poetry collection “Devotions” by an engineering professor. Why is an engineering professor assigning poems? Because I asked for help fostering hope during a very challenging period of life.

So what is poetry to me? A reason for hope, a way to connect through language and imagery, an ability to capture the catastrophes of life, the deepest pleasures, and the hardest goodbyes. A poem can be found for anything, for each and every idea. If not, then it can be created! It’s comforting that art has infinite expressions, so there can be infinite poems about love, loss, joy and pain. These themes will never be truly overdone because they’re the backbone of human existence.

Poetry lives all around us, in both quiet and abrasive ways; song lyrics are poetry, consolation to a grieving friend is poetry, spray painting heartfelt words on the side of an old, brick building is poetry. You often have to listen closely to a poem to understand it, and I like that it’s not always painted out for you. The best pieces of life are worth a bit of effort. Plus, there’s often room for your own interpretation in reading poems. Anyways, I hope you will read my poems on the new “poems” page (linked below), and I hope they might make you feel something.

Take care,

T <3

my poems

why i love poems

I moved to spain!