what poetry is

it's confusing and literal
exciting
passionate and
silly
breathtaking
and
ridiculous
a lot like sex
it is the gnawing feeling
of grief that never goes
that knows no cure

it is the longing for
quiet that city goers
need
crave
never receive

it is the teenage boys chasing a teenage
girl
playing rough tag

but not
too rough

hoping for a brush against
her

sigh

it is the knowing look of your dog
looking you square
past your eyes
defenses
allowing you
to show
a side
you'd rather
not let
otherwise
be seen

its the compassion
of being human
that needs
neither dictionary
nor instructor
to decipher
nor decode
to understand
like listening to
a cardinal sing
or explaining
why a blue bonnet
simply
is