Notes About The Poem

The last step of Poetry Soup's Guide:
'How to Write a Poem - 10 Steps to Writing Great Poetry'
10. Read It Aloud.
“Some poems look like they fell down a flight of stairs, one word per step at a time.” - Attributed to Billy Collins 
“Poetry should not require snakes and ladders to read and follow the syntax.” - Author 

Early poems were almost always read aloud or performed, and in many cases, they were not written down at all. Poetry began as an oral tradition.

waterfall

Dangling Short-Lines Over Water-Falls

Oh, dear reader
of short-line
poems,
are you, like me,
short of breath?

Have you tried
to read
my short-shift stuff,
with ever so
short-lines,
Aloud?

It's sad to say
it sounds
a tad choppy!
Like it's,
ridin' on
bobbin' seas,
sailing into 
a head-wind
over the air-ways.

It rollicks along 
with carriage returns, 
unwinding, 
flowing freely 
from margins
set tight,
to waterfall.

Sad to say,
I'm done with it!
For me personally,
a poem
is just a thought,
a heady 
daydream fling,
until its read, 
Out-Loud!
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025

Poem

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