Poetry

John Henry
by Earl Bergland, 1969

All I have is a hammer
For my driving hand.
All I have is a hammer
To prove myself a man.

Sticky stinky sweat
Running down my back.
Just hard bone and guts
Towing my belt's slack.

Let me swing my hammer;
Let me drive some steel.
Hell, about all I know
A driving man can feel.

Need some iron for my hand,
Hot sweat running free.
Driving, just a driving,
Something is a driving me

Slamming out a beat,
Its a sound of my own.
This oak sticked hammer
Knows my hand is its home.

Swinging a crushing hammer,
Hand wiping muddy sweat,
Keep on being a man,
Living by the minute.

Feet in the raining dust
Staring at the mountain sky.
Swinging that damn ole hammer,
How a working man gonna die.

Grew up with a steel hammer
Gripped in my calloused hand.
Be driving a hard hard hammer
All the way to the glory land.

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.