I am not sure that I have any tells because I have many styles. I have shared that I have integrated after years of living with disassociative identity disorder. Before I started healing, I had written a few poems, but during the rigors of therapy, I became prolific and my styles varied depending on which part of ME was out. Poetry gave me a voice, a way to put words to bottled up feelings. So many of my pieces are tough truths through which I expressed feelings of anger, fear, and heartbreak. Interspersed a pieces for children, humorous pieces (from the part of me I call Lizzie), poems for my departed father, life in NYC, and nature pieces. In short, I'm all over the place. Now that I am more integrated, I don't write as much, but I still love it.

My favorite poets are Edna St. Vincent Millay (Renascence - my all time, favorite poem ever), Emily Dickson, and Maya Angelou. I love their use of language, I love the invention of words and the power of observing tender and hard truths. I am still trying to figure it all out. What makes an Emily Dickinson poem, a St. Vincent Millay or Angelou poem? I love the way the work of these poets reads but they have distinct voices. I really need to take a class or something.

I also enjoy poems that have contradictory elements. It packs a punch when a poet can use this to convey an opposite. I just read a open like this on a site called AllPoetry. The poet was describing an intimate encounter and using all of the visuals, but the poet gave us clues that this would not end well and was thus particularly heartbreaking.

This is an interesting take on autumn as the emphasis is on destruction. I tend to look at autumn as part of the circle of life, a gradual ripening followed by brilliance, fading, quiet, and Earth-rest in preparation for the return of life in spring. This poem rings true when you consider the drama of an autumn storm...the kind that pulls the leaves off trees and transforms the landscape in a night. It's an excellent poem in its use of vibrant images and metaphor

I agree with Adam about some of the "poets" pushed by Simon & Shuster. Quick grabs of repharased platitudes or cliches and skimpy drawings on empty pages should not count as poetry (in my humble opinion). People buy the books and this approach has created millionaires out of a few savvy business people who are not necessarily poets. It's an interesting phenomenon. I also agree that heartfelt attempts to create poetry are endearing. We all have our preferences. I love to see a work in progress. One of my favorite things is to read poems on the forum where people seek feedback. I don't always comment, but I love reading the posts.

I am a lot older than most of the folks writing here and I have not given up. I have had many careers and I am now in a place where I want to do more with poetry. It would be nice to get published, to have a following, to monetize etc. I will definitely keep my day jobs to make sure the bills are paid, but I know from experience that the key to success is to show up and put your work out in the world. As long as I am writing, sharing, connecting with other poets and growing, I know I am on the right track.

My parents read poems to my siblings and me from the time we were babies. I remember a Mother Goose Book and then the Child's Garden of Verse. These pieces and their illustrations evoke powerful memories. The language was like music read by a beloved parent. The pictures brought the words to life. My parents showed us the connections between poetry and song lyrics: I remember listening to the music of John Lennon or Bob Dyaln and talking about the lyrics and the connection between music and lyrics. I went to a wonderful highschool where poetry was an integral part of the curriculum. I came to love the work of Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay as I grew older. I just love it all now.

My favorite poem of all time is Renascence by Edna St. Vincent Millay https://poets.org/poem/renascence This is lyrical piece takes the reader on a spiritual journey through nature, death, boundaries, longing, and freedom. The words, the message, the rhythm, the images, and the musical nature of the piece transport the reader through multiple emotions, and by the poem's end, the reader will have experienced a range of emotions from neutral, grief, wonder, joy, wisdom etc. It's all there. When I compare this magnificent piece to the lazy work of people like Rupi Kaur, I cringe. True, she is laughing all the way to the bank, but she is laughing. We have gotten lazy in our lust for quick soundbites that sound meaning full. If you look at some of the driveling "words of wisdom", they are merely platitudes, cliches, and not much more. I hate to say this because I love young people and want to be supportive of novel ideas and approaches -when they are genuine. Edna St. Vincent Millay was 20 years old when she wrote Renascence....she was young and innovative in her day. She was also bold and gifted with the words and images and she used them to convey a point of view (also bold for one so young at the time of the writing). I love her poetry because it makes me feel while it fills my mind with rhythm, imagery and music.

I just completed a rhyme and meter class with Allpoetry.com (it was free). I failed the first assignment because my rhymes were not perfect. The teacher told me to go to www.rhymezone.com to complete the assignment. I got mad and I wrote something dumb like "The cat sat on a mat and ate a wicked hat". At first, I wanted to quit the course because I loathed the idea of looking for perfectly rhyming words on a website. The teacher reminded me that the assignment was merely an exercise to help students to appreciate the discipline of writing perfect rhymes. She challenged me to stay in the course so that I would have a better understanding of the foundations of poetry. It turned out to be an awesome class and I am now taking part two.

There are free classes on Allpoetry.com. I just took a class on rhyme and meter. I am taking others on free verse and brevity. The courses are self-paced and I find the instructor comments to be helpful and supportive. In one of our assignments, for the rhyme and meter class, we had to create a rhyme scheme and then write a poem to fit the scheme. For the assignment, I wrote a pice on New York Cit. I wlil post it in another forum. The class was a lot of fun!

I also love the imagery. It isn't rushed. You take your time and this gives the reader a chance to enjoy the view. : )

@Rachel Glass I loved this because it was so visual, palpably so, and you thus you took the reader with you. A + : )

I love this. It is flows nicely and its real. Your honesty is a breath of fresh air. : )

I also loved the imagery. They reminded me of days I used to write our NYC coffee shop. This was a palpable read. : )

This one was so beautiful, it made me tear up. You capture both experiences with such vivid imagery. Your description of true love was palpable. Amen!

Wow. I love this. I was right there with you. The poem captures the experience by engageing the senses. Awesome!

As COVID stories flood the news We push to find vaccines I'm not one to hedge my bets I'm tired of quarantine Pressed against the window I touch the tired glass I long feel the springtime breeze To dance in dewy grass The season's sky invites me I can no longer stay The shot's not going to come to me I have to find a way Transplanted from Manhattan though still not very far Suburbanites require wheels so now I need a car Sticker shock's a misery but now I must confess I don't even have a license Jeez-this day is full of stress. ************************** (That was my day yesterday)