Poetry is to the soul what that first full breath of air is to a newborn baby. The baby cries, a mother’s heart is filled with joy, the olden folks mourn and a youthful heart contemplates life and love.

Poetry can lift you to great heights or break you down into a torrent of tears. Poetry is a collection of raw, scattered emotions tempered through rhythm and rhyme into a melodious flow of the written word. Poetry is the unsung songs within us, the secrets of our soul which otherwise may be left unspoken.

Of all the arts forms, poetry is the most personal. The artist’s heart laid bare with the stroke of a pen. It can inspire, educate, and comfort. A painting or sculpture may be beautiful or awe inspiring to look at, but only poetry can be committed to memory and wrapped around a person’s heart.

Akin to a favorite Biblical passage that soothes the soul, a favorite poem can be our stay in times of trouble, and there is something for everyone.

From the historical pennings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to the macabre foretellings of Edgar Allan Poe, there is a genre to suit all palates. Whether written in the old English style of Geoffrey Chaucer or the modern voice of Maya Angelou, poetry has a definite voice.

Nowhere else in literature can joy and tragedy, hate and love, betrayal and patriotism combine in one venue to stir the human heart. Whereas we all cannot be great poets — like John Keats or Elizabeth Barrett Browning — a poet lives inside us all. From the short, rhyme less Haiku to the twisting journey of the Narrative there is a style of poetry everyone can master.

When the humdrum, same-old, same-old, boring routine driven world sinks your soul, dive into the magical world of poetry. Be a spectator if you wish, or apply your hand to pen and ink. Either way, you may laugh, you may cry, but in the end you will definitely — feel.