If poetry is dead, as they say, why do so many people still write poetry? Why is there so much poetry in social media outlets like Tumblr and Instagram?
I’m guessing it’s because poetry isn’t dead.
Like many readers, I discovered the poetry of Lang Leav through Tumblr, where she posts her own work. She’s not just a Tumblr poet, but rather an artist who has been honing her craft for years, but it’s amazing how much of her audience — for poetry, one of the oldest art forms — comes from so recent a development as Tumblr.
Poetry absolutely abounds online. Is it all good? Of course not. But much of it is intended as poetry has always often been intended: a snapshot, through words, of the thoughts and feelings of a certain soul.
it is a terrible thing
to love the unreachable;i found this out
on a friday night
where in a whole room of people
the world starts and ends
on your lips and
i knew i was staring at
the dusting of your freckles
but couldn’t resistit is a terrible thing to love
your friendsi am burning alive
for it.(via)
at the tender age of 23
i received the Nobel Prize
for daydreaming
and everyone applauded
a standing ovation
and then i woke up
standing in the kitchen in my underwear
in front of an open refrigerator
with one hand on the door
and the other loosely in my side
as if i was just looking for some midnight snack
i looked down
at my body
in the pale refrigerator light
didn’t remember how I got here
must have been sleepwalking again
didn’t even know
for how long i was standing there
but my body felt
intensely cold(via)
Hell no, poetry ain’t dead.