How is poetry actually used today? Is it actually relevant, or has it gone the way of tap dancing or having the best yodel?
I believe there is a modern practicality to poetry that stands up to attention once given the proper salute. The poetic craft has become an often overlooked art in today’s society, not to mention entertainment.
Let us consider the cream of the crop at the very top of acceptable integration of poetry within our modern days… greeting cards! Ah yes… to celebrate birthdays, personify graduations, elevate anniversaries, pay homage to holidays… open the card and therein lies the sentiment! Funny… serious… topical… cards run the gambit of tastes, as does the poetry within.
Tributes and eulogies often strike the same chords don’t they? Honoring one that has aspired to particularly exuberant greatness deserving of particular praise, or even just a loved one that has touched many before passing… poetry dresses the naked truth. Many truths are not hard to accept… yet beautiful words can soften the blow.
I’ve walked many a cemetery behind churches reading old epitaphs etched into broken tombstones. I did this not out of morbid curiosity, but out of an endearing respect for the dead and calm about the grounds. I still seek words that may provide some insight as to who those souls were besides the usual names and dates… though I’ve often found the same phrases on different stones, picked out of a marble chiselers book of hungry bards!
Political speeches have been known to wax poetic idealisms and poignant commonalities, garnering enough sentiment to stir the hearts of the people,… or to even consecrate an occasion. Lincoln’s Gettysburg address remains every bit as timeless and touching to me as the most profound verse.
Performance Poetry stands out as something that is not so well known, but equally as relevant. There are a number of bards that excel at explosive expositions that are not only noteworthy both comically and tragically, but also extremely entertaining as well. Music deserves a note here as well… many poetic songwriters out there today influencing how we think. Radio jingles jangle advertising in our ear often with catchy phrases or rhymes that reflect creative flows. I’ve seen inner city murals with bits of thoughts that contain amazing poetry that inspire thought just passing by…
Finally… there’s the old books of literature grandpa and grandma hold dear… and some young folks too! Those masters whose words live on in poetry classes from sea to resilient sea… whose works shall never go quietly into the night. When we hear their words… we celebrate next level authors in our hearts… living or otherwise…
Yes… there is a NEED FOR POETRY today that deserves a salute! Have you ever written any of the above? Maybe you have another practical use I haven’t covered? I would love to hear from you. Feel free to share your comments below and thank you for reading!
Matt Elmore
