Poetry is one of the most overrated “art forms” there is. Especially free verse, which looks like someone just wrote down a random thought in a notebook and then hit enter every few words to make it seem “deep.” Essentially, it says nothing, yet the reader is expected to nod wisely and pretend there’s some enormous philosophical meaning behind it.
In reality, many are afraid to say, “this is complete nonsense,” because then they appear uneducated or emotionally cold in the eyes of others.
At least rhymed poetry demonstrates some skill. There’s rhythm, sound, wordplay, memorability. Free verse is utter BS.
The worst part is how poetry is always artificially made to seem profound. If no one understands the text, the reader is blamed, not the author. As if confusion itself were a mark of quality. In truth, good art can resonate with people without requiring three literature professors and five metaphor analyses to understand it -the more incomprehensible the text, the more some people pretend it’s mind-blowing.