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@emily-waldorf I’m also intrigued… what would you define as a theme that poetry was not meant to cover? How would one determine whether or not a subject should be used for his poetry, if certain subjects were taboo? What if you were able to use a difficult subject for a poem that had perfect rhyme and meter, but it wasn’t that great of a poem? Is it more acceptable than a free verse that deals with that subject in a rawer, deeper way without rhyming?

If you just google the ‘definition of poetry’ it says this…  “Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.” ‘Distinctive style and rhythm’ is also used in good free verse. Note it says nothing about rhyming. What it seems to be saying here is also that the heart of poetry is ‘special intensity given to the expression of feelings and ideas’, not meter and rhyme scheme. I would see meter and rhyme as the vehicles of poetry, but not the heart of it. The heart of poetry is reality. It is genuineness, it is honesty, it is stripping back the layers to get to the heart of this world, our own lives, relationships, thoughts, and dreams. The heart of poetry is how well it speaks to the reader. If I can touch someone’s heart and affect their mind by sacrificing some perfect rhymes, I won’t hesitate.