Is it really a poem

Does anyone feel like smiling?

Is it really a poem

if you never write it,

tied in your head

like a cat on a leash

 

Placed on the curb

by an old record player,

hung in a closet

with warm winter fleece

 

Pinned to a board

with a list made for shopping,

stuffed in a box

manufactured for shoes

 

Drawn on a map

as if old, buried treasure,

X marks the spot

if your way you don't lose

 

Stuck in a drawer

with some pliers and thumbtacks,

shoved to the side

as you stare straight ahead

 

Dropped like a hint

that seems no one has taken,

folded and packed,

hidden under the bed

 

Is it really a poem

if you do not share it,

penning your words

for the whole world to see

 

Probably not,

that’s why this one I’m posting

Wishing good morning

to WC

 

Hoping for a few smiles this morning. : )

 

Author's Note

I didn't think so.

Reviews

[Cherrie]

Beautiful poem Will.
Life is a poem
On a good day a smile and another a cup full of sorrow. We can only hope a poet will capture the moment for the rest of us to experience.

[willweb]

Thanks so very much for reading and commenting. You are correct...poetry is everywhere we look if we chose to see it.

[Aura]

I think a poem is anything that conveys a message. You know some poems don't have to rhyme, and similarly some poems might not be written down but can be said aloud. As long as the piece conveys meaning then I think it can be a poem. Thank you for sharing this lovely piece, I think its something that is in the back of our minds but rarely do we think or talk about what is poetry.

[willweb]

Thanks so much Aura, I was just having a little fun. I agree, a poem can be anything the poets wants it to be and no, poems do not have to rhyme.

[Aura]

My pleasure!

[Lorry]

A poem can only become a poem when it is written and shared, which wasn't always the case for me.
When my family and friends first heard I wrote, I let them read some for a while, until I realised they all said the same thing "but they don't rhyme!"
I got sick of trying to explain rhyme is only one form of hundreds of types of poetry and perhaps that was the beginning of my reclusicide beginning.
Thankfully though, I live far enough away from them and forgot to pass on my forwarding address, just at the exact moment my phone needed replacing when the phone I had their numbers in accidentally fell to the bottom of the sea after slipping out my hand from a speeding trains window.
It was a great shot though 😊
One day I'll write a poem about it, and laugh as I set it on fire, knowing it will never rhyme for them 😊

[willweb]

ok Chris says it is a poem and you say it can't be a poem unless it is written and shared. Now I am confused, but that is a state I live in constantly it seems. Thanks for coming by. Hmmm...Loretta Swit....Hmmm... definitely food for thought there. I'm going to head over to the mess tent and think about it.

[Lorry]

Okay, sometimes there can be secret poems I guess. Like the ones written in journals that no one knows exist.
I'm sure that Emily Dickinson would agree, as only her closest friends knew she wrote in her lifetime. I think it all came to light after her death and she is thought quite highly of. 😊

[willweb]

I understand and they probably didn't have sites like this when she was writing to post her poems on so no one would read them. Except her closest friends of course. : )

[Lorry]

I know. She lived in a tweetless world. How did she manage without likes and taking pointless pictures of her Mochalettecinos of a morn? 😊

[willweb]

She did have it rough.

[Lorry]

No tweets! No updates! No selfies! No wonder she had all that time for poetry 😊

[willweb]

No Shyte?

[willweb]

No Shyte?

[Chris Shaw]

Of course it’s a poem. Those poetical thoughts that don’t make their way to print can still be poems. Just not shared:) I enjoyed this one that made its way into print. Have a lovely day will.

Chris

[willweb]

Ok, I was just checking and now I know. : )
Thanks Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I love old record players...and you ask such a valid question in this poem.

Is it really if you don't write it down...a poem swirling in the head is usually better than the one we write down....maybe if readers could just imagine what we are imagining.
would save ink and numbness of the fingers from too much typing.

[willweb]

I do too. When I wrote that I was thinking about a treasure trove we found as kids one day out trash picking. An old record player and a collection of 78s that were basically chamber music, but we didn't care. We also found a bowling ball that day. Trash was so much different back then. Thanks so much Jacob.