South Haven News

By Sydnie Rae

When you read a poem do you just look at the words? In this century, poetry has lost its respect. Poetry is underrated. The patterns the words form, the hidden meanings behind them, and the stories each word speaks, is art.

 Poetry is an art form.

Writers such as Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare all have poems with deeper meanings. 

In Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” the last three lines are, 

“Two roads diverged in a wood, 

and I— I took the one less traveled by, 

And that has made all the difference.”

 This last line says a lot about the poem. He is saying that by taking a road that is not traveled as much he experiences things differently. It is looking at things with a different perspective. Robert Frost is saying he is looking at life with a different perspective. Robert Frost isn’t just a poet; he is an artist.

“To Save Me An Orange” is a poetry book by Hayley Grace, This is a book “to anyone who thought the world would end at 16.” as she wrote on page 3. This is a book that gained popularity in the middle of 2024. Many beautiful pieces compose this book. She wrote, 

“and when he tells you he is sorry, 

look at him politely and tell him about the river.

 the river in which he built,… 

after asking yourself the million dollar question,

 for the 22nd night in a row.

 ‘why am i not good enough?’” 

This quote is about apologizing without change. It got to a point where she cried a river. The boy ripped her tears from her cheeks and the result of inconsistent love and consistent manipulation is the question, “why am i not good enough?” Hayley Grace’s writing effectively depicts relatable scenarios and emotion.  She also wrote,

”i was never scared of dying…

i was never scared of closing my eyes for one last time 

maybe the weight on my chest would go away 

and the feeling of suffocation would fade

i was never scared, 

until you asked me to stay.” 

This quote talks about how she never was scared of dying because she was never sure she had a purpose until someone said they needed her. She was never scared of closing her eyes one last time until she was shown that she was wanted and important.  Teenagers around the world find this book relatable and that’s kind of sad as to how many people relate to the negative emotions this book portrays. 

Can this be classified as art? One big part about modern day artists is they always try to portray meaning without directly expressing. Hayley Grace expresses very well with her words. Self- expression is the biggest part of modern day fine arts. Writing is self expression and this is how Hayley self expresses. She is an artist. 

“365 days” a short poem by an author unable to be found, says 

“365 days to start fresh,

 365 days to make a mess,

365 days to learn from mistakes, 

365 chances to take,…

365 days, it’s down to you.

365 days

What will you do?” 

Some people can understand what the author is saying in the text and some may not. Not everyone is promised tomorrow and everyone knows that. This poem straight up says that everyone has 365 days, choices, chances, opportunities, mistakes to learn from, and 365 ways to live. This author talks about how there are opportunities to be a new person every single day but whether or not that opportunity is taken up to you. This is written to make one think and try to understand the value of what we are given.  This is just another example of the art of writing poetry. 

The last piece that will be mentioned is by someone who writes as E.H. (Erin Hanson) This short poem is untitled. The whole poem is, 

“The best of friends, 

Turned out the worst, 

I wouldn’t have fallen,

 If they didn’t push me first,

But my time in the dirt,

Taught me something profound,

You can see a lot clearer,

When your backs on the ground.”

Even people she trusts can betray her. It doesn’t always have to be negative though. Yes, betrayal can hurt and she may have fallen. This poem’s deeper meaning is that the negative things she went through can have positive impacts and it opened her eyes to things she was blind to before. Her being down for a while taught her, the only way she can go is up. This is art. This doesn’t seem to be an extremely popular artist or very known poem but she should be recognized for the art she makes. 

Poetry is underrated. It should be appreciated like music, movies, theater, or other forms of art. In the past poetry was very important and many wanted to be poets. Sadly, the appreciation dims. The patterns, rhymes, and deep meanings make many others appreciate the art known as poetry but many don’t even bat an eye at poetry because they think it is just a waste of time. This art has changed many people’s perspectives on life and every poet’s dream is to touch the hearts of the audience that needs to hear it, Will you let poetry touch your heart too?