Poetry As A Painting Poem by Richard Lackman

How very like a painting, a poem seems to me
Revealing in its form and content verbal artistry
Framed within the pages of a book or magazine
Rendering a tale of woe or story so serene

Each word a brushstroke placed just so; it's meaning to insure
Combining to create a scene with beauty and allure
A literary style so exacting and so terse
Whether clothed in flowing rhyme or written in free verse

Each line is blended with the others to complete the view
A portrait of the subject in its own distinct milieu
A glimpse into reality or dreamy make-believe
Providing insight into truths no other could perceive

So it is that poems can create a scene so clear
Can communicate a feeling whether lofty or austere
And in so doing help us to decipher for all time
The meaning of our lives set in the beauty of a rhyme