Poetry is less important than a lot of writing styles in the eyes of the younger generations. This type of writing is a more expressive style that includes deeper meanings hidden within the words. Today, the vocabulary of the youth is nothing compared to a century ago because we, as a whole, have become lazy and don’t utilize the broad vocabulary that we learn in school. 

Poetry is used to either express emotions of the author, or to talk about a general problem with society and/or the world. This use of either repetition and literary devices allows for the reader to use many different types of imagery to feel and understand the emotions of the poetry. But, today, poetry has diminished.

Ms. Chryseis Corson, an English teacher at Bethpage High School, was asked about what parts of the writing form she loves. She described her love for poetry by saying that “poetry [has a] variety of ways in which it communicates its messages. Some poems read like a song, others present more of a puzzle, and some just leave an emotional impression with the unique arrangement of words.” Her words are basically describing the meaningfulness behind poetry. As a writer myself, poetry helps with more issues than most people think. Poetry falls out of the normal flow of interest within teens because of its complexity, but the complexity is what makes poetry poetry.

However, some students and younger generations believe that poetry isn’t as entertaining as other forms of writing. Gabrielle Monteleone, a junior at Bethpage High School, believes that poetry is “boring. [She] know[s] that every poem has a meaning, but some of their meaning[s] are just to[o] simplistic, and other[s] are too intricate.” The simplicity or complexity of a poem may vary due to the poet themselves, or just the overall effect of  the poem. Although some may second this, poetry isn’t meant to fit all audiences. Poetry can be free-form or rigid, depending on factors such as the topic or word choice. Poetry will forever be underrated because readers are taught to understand the true meaning of the poem rather than creating their own meaning.

[Below is Ariella Rojas’s favorite poem from a game called Doki Doki Literature Club on steam.]

The Raccoon (Doki Doki Literature Club)

It happened in the dead of night while I was slicing bread for a guilty snack.

My attention was caught by the scuttering of a raccoon outside my window.

That was, I believe, the first time I noticed my strange tendencies as an unusual

human.

I gave the raccoon a piece of bread, my subconscious well aware of the consequences.

Well aware that a raccoon that is fed will always come back for more.

The enticing beauty of my cutting knife was the symptom.

The bread, my hungry curiosity.

The raccoon, an urge.

The moon increments its phase and reflects that much more light off of my cutting

knife.

The very same light that glistens in the eyes of my raccoon friend.

I slice the bread, fresh and soft. The raccoon becomes excited.

or perhaps I’m merely projecting my emotions onto the newly-satisfied animal.

The raccoon has taken to following me.

You could say that we’ve gotten quite used to each other.

The raccoon becomes hungry more and more frequently, so my bread is always handy.

Every time I brandish my cutting knife the raccoon shows me its excitement.

A rush of blood. Classic Pavlovian conditioning. I slice the bread.

And I feed myself again.