My Preference Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

Modern proponents of free form.
Do not accept that poetry
has certain rules and must conform.
Or it becomes mere anarchy.

Anything goes just will not do.
It’s either poetry or prose.
One must give credit where it’s due
They both have merit I suppose.

Prose poetry cannot exist.
An oxymoron obviously
but modern writers will insist
that what they write is poetry.

They aren’t content to call it prose
well written and quite beautiful.
Care taken with the words they chose
describing something wonderful.

Although so many writers try.
There’s very few achieve their aim.
They do not stop to wonder why
But simply write more of the same.

Make no attempt to learn the rules
Meter and rhyme a mystery
they lack the simple basic tools
You need for writing poetry.

A poem is a message to
transmit your ideas and your thoughts.
So other folks can share them too.
If you can write them as you ought.

Simplicity and clarity
are prerequisites for our art.
The finest kinds of poetry
are written from the poets heart.

Mere strings of words in random lines
are neither prose nor poetry.
Each of us knows what he defines
as being his idea of poesy.

I rest my case I make no plea
I merely state my preference.
Applicable only to me
I do not wish to cause offence.

6-Jan-08