why? what? poetry

In today's exercise in Making Manifest Dave Harrity asks:

What do you think poetry is for?  What is its purpose, as far as you can discern?  What are some things you think a good poem should do?

I found myself answering the question in poetry...

poetry is to capture

without caging, moments

in time, to evoke

and invoke

to open doors

wipe the dirt off windows

that a new seeing

is born

poetry should

push you to

the edge, then catch you

as you fall, encourage

a journey in or out

leaving memorial stones

along the way

linking with Sandy today as together we are Making Manifest