Poetry Should Not Take Hours to Comprehend

In a world where words are like precious gems

I ask them to handle poems with care

To hold them up to the light

And let the colors dance before their eyes

 

I ask them to listen

Press their ear against the hive of words

And let the buzzing of poetry

Fill their senses

 

But they, in their ignorance

Choose to treat poems like prisoners

To trap them in a chair with ropes

And demand a confession

 

They beat the words with a hose

Trying to force meaning from their lips

But poetry cannot be tortured

It speaks in whispers, not screams

 

So I will continue to ask

To plead with them to understand

That poems are not meant to be broken

But to be embraced and set free. ("Poetry Should Not Take Hours to Comprehend") by Courtney Weaver Jr.