I would never have considered myself a poet, at least not until we held the poetry workshop with Melanie Goodreaux, where she introduced us to various forms of poetry and expression, far from the traditional format I had always imagined poetry to be. We read poems including Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” William Carlos Williams’ “This is Just to Say,” and Joe Brainard’s “I Remember.” After we went through the poems and read between the lines to decipher their meanings, we wrote poems based off of their formatting or way of expression. This interactive activity changed my way of thinking on poetry and the power you feel when you write and say poems you’ve written out loud.

My favorite poem by far was Brainard’s “I Remember,” and I know I enjoyed writing it as well. Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese” I found difficult to interpret, though our in-class discussion helped me decipher what emotions Oliver wanted to convey through her imagery and choice of words. “Wild Geese” seems to have the most similar format to a traditional poem than the other two, closer to what I was expecting out of a poem. William Carlos Williams’ “This is Just to Say” changed my perspective of what a poem is defined as. Its casual and brief presentation mimics a note left on a table (or refrigerator) for someone to find, and we picked through the details: the apology was too polite for family but too personal to be less than a significant other. Though I enjoyed this poem immensely, I had fun writing in the style of Brainard’s “I Remember,” as I went back in time and dug out little details in memories from my childhood. The presentation was simple and sprinkled through with bits of imagery that evoked nostalgia, which I absolutely loved. My view on poetry has definitely changed since reading these poems and writing in their styles, and I can say with certainty that I have begun to enjoy finding and interpreting details in poems more than before.