Poetry for pleasure

Poetry is written primarily for your pleasure. Sometimes poets tell you a story such as "The Plate of Gold" or "The Atheist and the Acorn". However, do not expect poets to tell you stories all the time. For instance, in " The Atheist and the Acorn", the poet picks up a single incident - the falling of the acorn - and dramatises the incident. On the other hand, a poet may give you delight by telling you about people and things of which you are curious. As human beings almost everybody is curious to know something about man, nature, and death.

Despite this curiosity very few people read poetry. They do so when they are compelled to sit an examination. Those who read poetry for pleasure are a vanishing breed. Although we read and sang poems as school children, it is a pity that we have been weaned from reading poetry as adults. If you remember the cardinal truth that poetry is written for the reader's pleasure, you are going to have second thoughts about it.

In a hectic wored where mobile phones ring incessantly and people move briskly from one place to another who will stop to read a poem and enjoy it? It is strange that poetry has to be "taught" to students. Do you have to teach now to enjoy the beauty of a cascading waterfall? Certainly not. You just keep on looking at the waterfall unmindful of everything else happening around you.

Teachers have a greater role to play when they teach poetry. Instead of making it a dull subject, they can generate some interest in poetry among their students. If poetry is something to be studied like history, we are shutting the doors on civilized enjoyment. Instead of dissecting poems looking for metaphors and similes, students should be taught how to enjoy poetry from the very beginning.

One way of generating an interest in poetry is to sing them in class. Silent reading helps enjoyment when you are nature, children find it difficult to grasp the essence of a poem by reading it is silence. My English master - T. Max Perera used to sing the following poem entitled " The Three Ravens" giving us a fore-taste of poetry:

"There were three ravens sat on a tree, Downe a downe, hay downe, hay downe, There were three ravens sat on a tree, with a downe there were three ravens sat on a tree. They were as black as they might be, with a downe derrie, derrie, derrie, downe, downe".

In this ballad there is hardly anything to dissect. It is meant for pure enjoyment. If your paraphrase it, you will not be able to enjoy its rhythm. Pleasure found in poetry evaporates in prose.

In addition to pleasure, poetry gives us knowledge. A good poet is a wise man. But the kind of knowledge he imparts through poetry is quite different from what you get in science and economics. Through the use of appropriate words the poet makes us happy or sad. But he has a reason to do so. Sometimes, the poet does not arouse any feelings in us. He would simply present the facts and allow the reader to form an opinion. For instance, in 'Michael' the poet makes no sentimental comments. However, an intelligent reader will react to the poem quite easily.

A wise man preaches but a poet doesn't. Preaching a moral lesson is not his business. However, he may drive home a moral in a subtle way without preaching directly.

Students often complain that it is very difficult to understand poetry. This is true to a great extent. But an intelligent reader with a little bit of imagination should be able to unravel the mystery of a poem. A well-written poem excites your imagination and admiration. When you try to share the poet's experience the real appreciation begins to dawn.

When you read poetry sometimes you wonder whether poets use a different kind of language. Great poets like Wordsworth and Keats have affirmed that there is hardly any difference in the language they use. The problem is that a beginner will take some time to become familiar with the dialect used by poets. Imagery is one of the devices used by poets. Images are usually visual impressions of the poet expressed in similes and metaphors. In this respect poetry is richer in imagery than prose.

Contrary to popular belief, poetry is a necessary ingredient for life. Even though some people do not read poetry, a few poets keep on writing poems. There has never been an age without poetry. Even in highly undeveloped countries and during war times poets have been at work. Although sophisticated people remain glued to the idiot box, villagers sing poems on various occasions. It is not the quality that matters but the immense enjoyment they derive through poetry.

Sri Lanka has produced its own brand of poets. Apart from established local poets like Patrick Fernando, Lakdasa Wickramasinghe, Anne Ranasinghe, Jean Arasanayagam and Yasmine Gooneratne, many other write poems. "The Daily news" has a regular poetry page. "The Sunday Observer too devotes some space for budding poets.

Even Sri Lankan poets have begun to discover for themselves the truths that poetry seeks to convey. It is in the discovery of such truths that the poet and the reader get their enjoyment. This is something you feel in your blood and in the heart.

We should be grateful to poets who have made our lives meaningful. Those who read poetry will developed a deeper sympathy towards their fellow human beings. Meanwhile, readers are aware that there is no area of human experience outside poetry.

In a society in which everybody fights for better jobs, higher salaries and greater privileges, a genuine poet will not ask for anything. He will enlighten you with the sparks of truth. He will join you in condemning violence, corruption and injustice. In other words, a true poet is a man of vision. He shares his wisdom in a subtle way. Reading and understanding such poetry will make anyone lead a meaningful life.

Those who write poetry do not seek rewards. In fact, they are a neglected lot. Publishers shun them. Many readers avoid them like the plague. But they keep on writing poetry. As you are aware, we need food

to survive. And we need poetry to make us aware of our position in the universe.

H. D. Jayasooriya who writes poems of high quality has sent the following poem for your reading pleasure:

A Rain to Sinharaja

Pattering and dancing drops of rain on the leaves of Pine trees

Compose notes of melodious strain in silent night,

Bouncing and twisting trees, in sight, explores it's boundless height,

Piping of galenic water borne, enthrals the hearts

Of all room-mates in the Summer Night

And the biome is lulled by the breezy incense morn.

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