What do you consider poetry?

Some people say that a poem has to rhyme... or that it needs punctuation.. or whatever... but I wanna know what makes a poem a poem..?

anyone??

Anything can be a poem, like any first graders self portrait can be art.

thanks
*XoX*

What does that provoke? Anything can have a label slapped on it, it doesnt make it GOOD. She asked what makes a "poem," well, anything can be a poem. She didnt ask what makes a GOOD poem.

po·em
n.

1. A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.
2. A composition in verse rather than in prose.
3. A literary composition written with an intensity or beauty of language more characteristic of poetry than of prose.
4. A creation, object, or experience having beauty suggestive of poetry.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=poem

6 replies before somebody pulls out the dictionary.com link? The smart asses are lacking today.

Aside from the technical definition of poetry I would consider it to be something that can sway your emotions.

Anything came be poetry if you put your heart and emtions in it!

You don't HAVE to rhyme. There are MANY types of ways to write poetry.

Too often do we label what is what. How can one decide what poetry truly is? I don't think we can. Yes, we can all have opinions. But down to the core, it is the writter's decision wether what he puts down is poetry or not.

agrees with nobody

i mean nobody and everybody :)

i think a poem is writing that isn't prose and has meaning.