Previously posted on my Thrillhead Blog
I like poetry. I’ve liked it for a long time. When most of my classmates would groan during the poetry units we studied in high school English, I would be intrigued. I always found it fascinating that true poets can say so much in so few words. People say a picture is a thousand words, but I believe a poet can say a thousand words in a short paragraph.
The poem below has inspired me since high school. I read it in a book in my high school library my senior year, which is where I would hang out a lot during my lunch because I was usually annoyed with my lame high school friends.
I recently came upon this poem again, and was reminded again why I have always liked it. It says so much, in so very little. The poem is inspirational, and can be read on many different levels. I hope you like it too!
For Poets
Stay beautiful
but don’t stay down underground
too long
don’t turn into a mole
or a worm
or a root
or a stone
Come out into the sunlight
Breathe in trees
Knock out mountains
Commune with snakes
& be the very hero of birds
Don’t forget to poke your head up
& blink
think
Walk all around
Swim upstream
Don’t forget to fly
-Al Young
