Why Poets? Poem by David Whalen

When a poem is read
A reader's home is entered
Where dwells a kindred spirit

You laugh…you cry
You groan and you sigh
You feel and taste and hear it

We bring tears to eyes
Smiles to lips…
Memories to mind

We make you think
With pen and ink
And open minds once blind

That music is a source of joy
Of that, of course there is
No doubt

But words and phrases
Ink on pages, of that
We'd ne'er do without

It's a gift given to very few
In truth, this game
of words and phrases

Of measurable worth?
Of real value none?
Of real time and of real places?

So why the need for you and me?
What place have we…Poets,
In grand schemes, of things and matters?

…It's because….

We give wings to words
That soar like birds
And oftimes leave your heart

…in tatters…