Poetry

I Know You True
by Earl Bergland, 1967

You're no stranger in this household.
I know you true; I know of old.

My blood is in the pyramids' mortar.
My mind whip tortured, folly of a Czar.
I died chained to ships' oars
Fighting your warped pride's wars.

My friends fought arena lions for your repast.
Who marched my relatives to a chamber of gas?

The bodies of my children stillborn
Taken from mother tired slave worn.
To be sown in the earth as if to mock,
To grow better crops for prize livestock.

My sick children grave-jailed.
My uncared for children at sale.
My struggling children in battle left.
My wife knows hers will be a lonely death.

You stole all my silver and gold.
Now steal even the sun's glow.
Foul clear rivers, slay forests green,
Terrorize nature's creatures, fiend.

You never change, you never will
Keep maiming to stay top glitz hill.

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Writing Poetry

Why Poetry? Poems are written by people who are too lazy to write a book. Most people who write poetry would do more good for the world by growing flowers or painting old barns. But we need to have patience because many young poets just need a few years of practicing as do musicians.
What are the three basic requirements for a quality poem?
A. The topic must be very important.
B. The poet must express thoughts with clarity.
C. The poem must create a dramatic impact (create an emotional feeling) in reader.
Is poetry a waste of time? That is a tough question. We can wonder the same thing about fishing or watching a football game. A poem provides the poet with a means of expressing ideas and feelings by a very personal means. Playing basket ball or cooking is also a means of personal expression.
What kind of an attitude should we have about reading poetry? Imagine sitting in a park on a spring day listening to your friend discuss ideas with you. Poets love waterfalls and country fried chicken.