Barbara, I can't answer for others, only myself. Poetry to me says a great
deal in a few words. Because it is compressed it has more power per inch. It
uses imagery, figurative language, and it involves the reader in a way that
prose cannot. Also in poetry as Pope said, "The sound is echo to the sense."
Whether the poem rhymes or not is immaterial, but it does have cadence, a
natural phrasing, so that when it is read aloud, the words come off the
tongue sounding musical, magical, and "right." Also a poem has a different
effect upon the reader than prose does. It resonates with other meanings
beside the surface one, others levels. And when I see it, I recognize it.
Sue
http://members.aol.com/poetscalf
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