It is not true poetry if there is no rhyme.

It`s hard to imagine how many times I`ve heard this phrase. I've been writing
poems for as long as I can remember myself. But people often find them
“weird”. The thing is they almost have no rhyme. I`ve grown up listening to my
friends or relatives saying that I need to learn some techniques of versification
or just giggling at my poems pretending to take me serious. But it never touched
me. My inner definition of poetry, which I think was born with me, has always
been giving me strength. It became my shelter.
Poetry for me is a way of life. Every detail of a poet's life is soaked with the
poetic perception of the world. Such people feel differently, they see the things
differently. They are the greatest lovers and the most dangerous villains. They
are reckless, loyal and real. True poets just can’t not to write. That’s why I
define true poetry as something abstract. Poetry can be an endless tangle of
emotions or it can be a single live wire, it will make you cry your heart out or it
will make you happy just because of nothing, it will bring up serenity or it will
strike you as a thunder, it will comfort you and it will shock you. Poetry is all
about your heart. And true poetry goes deeper and deeper and gets stuck in your
soul like sticky butterscotch does between your teeth. You feel the taste for a
long time on.
But do I think the content of poems is more important than their form? No, I
don’t. The shape of poetry is it’s integral and crucial part. However, in my
opinion, we should widen our horizons and notice that there is not only the
rhyme. Stress, rhythm, intonation, syllabic structure, even sounds. All of these
create the atmosphere a poet wants us to feel. When I write my poems, I let my
thoughts and feelings take control, but then I always try to give them their own
shape. It’s like outlining the counters of your drawings with the black colour.
And sometimes rhyme can even ruin it. I think art needs as less boundaries as
possible. Rhyme can become a friend and it can also take you hostage. May be
both poets and readers should first concentrate on words, metaphors, sounds and
images they create? Noticing and feeling all of these opens the door to the
magic of poetry, where rhyme is only one of the numerous instruments to
express and perceive.
I also think people should try to not only read classic poetry, but also find some
modern authors. I’m currently reading a book which is called “Milk and
Honey”. This is the collection of poetry, written by Indian-born poet and author
Rupi Kaur, about the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.
There is absolutely no rhyme, but these poems are magnificent. They give you
goosebumps and make you feel alive. This is a special kind of art to me and I
find such poems really intimate as they seem to go right from the heart. You
quickly get used to the rhythm and don’t even notice a lack of rhyme. I think
every poetry lover should try reading something like that.
In conclusion I would like to highlight my main idea: art is not about the rules.
True poetry is honest, emotional and goes from your heart. If a poem has a good
rhyme system, that means absolutely nothing as long as it doesn’t touch your
soul. Art is about life. And life is too tremendous to be put into rhyme
boundaries.