BUT IS IT POETRY?
One writer's opinion:

The following 10-part component of poetry may appear whole or in parts in all poetry that is 'POETRY' and not just re-ordered prose. The elements are not numbered in any descending or ascending order of importance, and each part may or may not be dependent upon the other. At this point in my life, I have found a good number of each component to be present in exemplary samples of poetry by both famous and unknown authors. Having laid the ground rules for my own execution, here is my list. It may cause me expulsion from the community, but I must be honest at my own expense, in order to save the form from extinction.

  • SCENE: derived from details and Point of View. Employs writing from CAMERA ANGLES: Involves, but doesn't require a subject or theme, may be a thread of a subject or theme.
  • DICTION, VOICE, POINT of VIEW, SYNTAX: all make up TONE & TEXTURE.
  • SYNTAX: Denotative and Connotative choices of words.
  • BALANCE of Line, Meter, Verse, Idea.
  • RHYME: Off-Near-Close-Exact-Feminine
  • ALLITERATION, ASSONANCE, CONSONANCE.
  • IMAGERY
  • FIGURES OF SPEECH: Metaphor, Simile, Allusion, Personification, Hyperbole.
  • REPETITION
  • PERSONAL MAGIC: Undefined personality infused in one's writing traits: can be defined as "your own voice."

© John Amato
Bonfire contributor