What a Poem Is

My friend says emphatically, if you touch a heart with your words, it's a poem. Can you stir imagination? When you describe a ripe peach, will they taste it? If you mock yourself, do they laugh with you? Can you make them feel your sorrow, shed a tear? Do your words bring forth courage, strength, resolution? Do they evoke memories, or heal the pain of loss? As they read your heart-prints, will they share your dream, walk in your footsteps, gain hope for the future? Often, when you think you're simply putting thoughts on paper, you're composing a poem.