Why do I write poetry?

Prose ain't my thing.

so many rules to follow

dot your i's

comma before end quote

I'll be lost in grammatical nightmares

don't make me write prose

.

But poetry

man

I love the way a poem can

gently hold your hand

walk you to the edge of a cliff

make you inhale every inch of scenery

then

push

you

down

into the depths of a ravine

all in a few short stanzas

.

The rules are wibbilty-wobblty

you can bend them

without ever hearing the

SNAP!

!

you can knead and work them

into homemade focaccia dough

bake at 350°

until the warm breadth of your words

ready to eat

.

Poetry gives me the freedom to be

be me

be anything I want

Poetry is the way I think

words strung together in abstract venn-diagrams

loosely connected plot threads

Poetry lets me breathe

in with the external chaos

and out with my word vomit

typed by furious thumbs into a black mirror

.

Prose may be pretty and

more understandable for most,

but poetry allows me

to show you my heartbeat.