World Poetry Day passed me by this year without a murmur. It was last Wednesday 21st.

As my wife, Joan, is a poet I am in the doghouse.

To make amends at the end of this little piece I have published one of hers that I know we have never published before.

The United Nations had this to say about poetry:

“Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures.”

Why do we read and write poetry?

Marianna Rivera answered my question with this:

“Humans read and write poetry to articulate their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and love for each other.

“We express powerful emotions that last as long as we hear a poem, and continue to play in our minds as we encounter many troubles in life. Poetry is a form of life, poets give poems life by writing them from their heart. We are passionate about our feelings and poetry is the key to most of the secrets in life. We learn from reading poetry, and we feel confident when we read poetry and are able to relate to the poet. Most of all, poetry ignites our brains into thinking past society and thinking on our own. We are all customized and intricate in our own ways, each poem relates differently to each person and that is the beauty of poetry. Poetry is more than just words, poetry is artistic, beautiful, lovely, sad, and inspiring.

“It has the power to change minds……. As humans, we are passionate about life and life’s experiences.

“We want to share with the world about love, happiness, peacefulness, and sorrow. Expressing our deepest emotions and beliefs is what we live for, we live to make a mark on society, we live to make our dreams come true.”

SOURCE: https://prezi.com/ygzyqfq5amqf/why-do-we-read-and-write-poetry/?webgl=0

Joan wrote this short poem about a dear friend of hers. She will not say who it is.

(I can make a pretty good guess …)

It relates to a lot Rivera wrote above. Enjoy.

THAT OLDE CAT LOOK

By Joan E (Watler) Wilson

Why do I think of you
Every time I see a cat?

Is it because you’re so warm and friendly
And more so as a matter of fact?

Your hair is always combed so nicely
Your clothes are styled just right

Your words are softly spoken and
Your eyes so very bright

So you see it stands to reason
Why I think so much of you

We’re great purring friends together
And we’ll meow the golden years through.