by Kimberly K

Created on: June 25, 2009

Good poetry does most certainly come from the heart. No, not from the organ that pumps blood through the body, but from feelings. Those who have a talent for creative writing know that "the heart" can mean so much more than the definition of an organ in the human body. If you take the time to look it up in a dictionary or thesaurus you will see that it also means spirit or the basis of emotional life. The heart can be the place where our deepest feelings reside and where a person is the most vulnerable. It is from this place that both the pain and happiness we experience can flow onto paper and create the most beautiful and heartfelt poetry.

A person's spirit is what guides creativity. That ingenuity is seen as talent, but in reality it is so much more. Talent, when it comes to art forms such as writing, is really the ability to experience life outside of our five senses. Creativity and talent use a sixth sense so to speak. When one uses this sixth sense they are able to reach outside of themselves and touch what is outside of reality. This is also referred to as imagination. This ability to see with the mind's eye is really the ability to see with our spirit... our heart.

It is certainly possible to write poetry using only one's mind, but there is a risk that the piece will turn out to be flat. When one uses his/her heart or spirit to write poetry then the piece is much more likely to be multi-dimensional and in turn to pull emotions from others who read it. That is what successful poetry is, a piece of work that touches our very soul or spirit and calls forth emotions we may have forgotten existed.

Think of a poem that moved you. Did you feel the emotion with your mind, or within your spirit... your heart? A poet's talent for writing doesn't come from things he/she learned in a classroom or from books. That talent goes much deeper and if that gift of spirit did not exist, then all the wisdom in the world could not make that person a true poet. Knowledge is power, but to a writer spirit is even greater.

When poetry is written from the heart it is moving, it stirs our souls. If you combine that spirit (heart) with knowledge (mind) then you have a well written, poignant piece of work. Without that heart however you have a well written, flat poem that no one will want to read.

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