Inventory, Ideal

Cherished ... Is the word I use to describe The works of poetry that I add to my preferred list That list is quite limited ... I suppose you could say I'm picky But those poems are the whole package NOT with respect to having all the elements That I look for in good poetry But rather how those pieces represent the ones who wrote them If looking for perfection, the list might not exist But I save the poems that speak to me of the author How that particular poet sees this process How they view life and love and the Universe in general How they wield the various tools of language To sculpt what THEY feel is poetry But most of all ... My preferred list is rife with enjoyment The works that just plain MOVE me in some way Light or dark, up or down, left or right, bad or good, happy or sad If my heart thrums faster or my spirit is affected more intensely If I'm left with the motivation and yearning for more Then it gets added to the list ... Poetry is a piece of the person who wrote it And a gift to those who it reaches The pleasure I find in unwrapping that gift Is the worth I attach to it So if it makes that special list It's a gift I wish to open again-and-again With the joy of a giggling child On Christmas morning. ~ 1st Place ~ in the "Fave" Poetry Contest, Line Gauthier, Judge & Sponsor.