John Lawless Poet Free verse

Why Poetry Must Be Read Aloud

Why Poetry Must be Read Aloud

The poet caresses the purity of the
blank white page, seduces it, whispers
to it, teases and cajoles, coaxing
from the emptiness a depth of
solace, the fullness of a lover’s smile.

His words are mined, milled, and
shaped by the hammer and anvil of
his heart.  Heated to molten glow by
his passion and his longing to be
enveloped, entrapped, ensnared
in the web of whiteness.

Thus, he pours out his metaphoric
blood, his soul, in words.  Words –
words that mar the clarity of the page,
despoil its clinical perfection.  Words
torn from love, or pain, or loneliness,
unspoken words yet to feel the breath
of freedom.

So is the secret shared without fervor,
without rage, in lust-less, loveless, agony.
Etched onto the silence of the paper,
hidden in the margins of the white bordered
prison.  Waiting – to be given a voice, to
be imbued with the passion found in the
speaker, to echo across a valley, to
be shouted, sung, screamed into the
cooling air of life.

It is not enough to be written,
to fill the emptiness of the page,
for paper has no passion.


John G. Lawless
4/9/2014

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Brian Strand October 30, 2015 at 9:42 PM Yes indeed John your poem confirms the reasons why poetry at its best is an oral art form that communicates one to another or it is nothing.I especially enjoyed thevallterative lines in each stanza.regards Brian John Lawless October 31, 2015 at 8:39 AM Brian, I had occasions to share my poetry at a local High School. Reading the poetry I had written and inviting the students to read what they had written always seemed to bring the moments alive and increase their interest as the tone and volume rose.

Dr. Upma A. Sharma August 14, 2014 at 9:14 AM Agreed John it shud be read aloud ! Power of words is an absolute truth my friend! Whether we absorb or transmit, each way voice is heard! John Lawless August 14, 2014 at 6:01 PM Thanks Dr. Sharma, I find that there is an excitement in reading poetry, my own or others.

Robert Lindley August 13, 2014 at 9:16 PM A truly inspired write my friend!!! Poetry should be read so others can ALSO hear its melody and heart amplified. Yet most poetry is read only. For the mind is a powerful tool. It can imagine even far greater sound than the ear hears and transmits. John Lawless August 14, 2014 at 5:59 PM Robert, I have had children and adults find their "voice" while reading their poetry, as they took the passion that led to the poem and expressed it. I often read the poem her on the soup aloud, sometime more than once to see where it will take me.