National Poetry Month: April 29, 2015

Prompt: Today, I challenge you to write a poem in the form of a review. You can review either animate or inanimate things, real places or imaginary places. You can write in the style of an online review (think Yelp) or something more formal that you might find in a newspaper or magazine. (I imagine that bad reviews of past boyfriends/girlfriends might be an easy way to get into this prompt, though really, you can “review” anything in your poem, from summer reading lists for third graders to the idea of the fourth dimension).

Day 29: This started as a review poem, but turned into more of a rant. 

Poetry is going extinct, government data show.

             -- The Washington Post

Like God, poetry is said to be dying.

Proclaimed by an article

from the Washington Post

using statistics, 

America’s favorite weapon.

Readers decline in number,

poetry only slightly more popular

than opera, less desirable 

than knitting or jazz.

I bet the guy who wrote this 

doesn’t read poetry 

or go to poetry readings,

has never been to a slam.

Maybe he still resents memorizing

“Annabelle Lee” in fourth grade.

What should I tell that sixth grader

who told me she is a poet,

who sat scribbling lines in class yesterday?

Stop, don't bother, 

only 6.7% of all Americans

will care about your words?

No, I will say, "Let me read your poem."