That There Poetry Packet

     Poetry is quite the work of art these days. There's no real definition of it, meaning anything could be known as poetry, it could be as simple as a piece of paper or as complicated as a wave of rock and roll going across the face. Either way, it can make a deep impact on lives all over, and I hold in my hand an entire packet of these pieces. Some long, some advanced, some even jazzy. Of the poems I read, the following piece I will talk about is the one that stood out the most to me.
     The first piece I'd like to talk about is called 'Parade', made by, I believe Cole Swenson. It tells of a group of people walking down a street. All of them are apparently African American and are being escorted by white cops. The parade is also about a certain person, the one writing the poem. As I read this, a can't help but be reminded of the funeral processions of New Orleans. How they too would be about a single person while a group of his/her closest friends escorted them from the church to the graveyard to be buried. "A chance to let, PARADE, the whole world see, PARADE, old black me!" This phrase helped conclude my theory on what the poem is about, or at least it helped paint a picture for my imagination. If nothing else, it's a wonderful piece that helps set the mood and create a setting out of nowhere.
     This is one of the many pieces in this packet that has really helped my understanding of the poetry world. It's deep, understanding, sets the mood, and it makes one think of the possible message the poem is trying to get through. After all, just because I interpreted the piece in this manner, doesn't mean that this is the real message. But it does not matter if the assumption is right or not. The only thing that really matters in a poem is how much it makes you think and how well it impacts your life.That's how you know you have a good poem on your hands.