there are some camps who believe that poetry is
best with proper punctuation
while others choke at the thought
saying that it stifles
creativity in all good forms
i love writing poetry whenever
punctuation is optional
although i will draw the line at spelling
even though e.e. cummings never did
thank god for spell check and word processing
the age of computers is a wondrous age
even when I mistype
not misspell mind you
the words are changed
instantly before the eye
commas colons and semicolons
question marks and periods
whichever comes first or last
simply doesn’t matter
to some poets
poets instinctively
know how to read
between the lines
and fill in their
own punctuations
although i will freely admit
that for journalists
novelist and essayists all
poor or exceptional writers
punctuation is a must
perhaps it is because poetry
is meant to be
read out loud
in public places
loudly or softly
we write not so much to
break the silence
or the stillness
but so you might stop
to enjoy a word or two
between each silent breath
prayer is like that you know
which is why each poem
spoken or read out loud
is very very much
exactly like a prayer
Ron Starbuck
Copyright 2009
