History as Non Fiction

Poems and history just go hand in hand. Since the idea of stories has been around, they have travelled through the form of oral poetry. Poems such as the Odyssey have made history, and recounted a history that is not exactly correct by a historical standpoint, but it tells the story of what some people believed to be the true history.

Poems tell stories. They are a kind of works that recount both true and untrue events, but have history embedded in them. For example, "Paul Revere's Ride" by William Wordsworth is a poem that tells the story of the night the British came to invade America. This story starts with Revere telling his friend to hang a lantern in the belfry and ends saying that he rode through all the towns to help save America.

This poem is not one of just history. It does not belong in a text book. This poem has a rhyme and meter, it has rich imagery and strong metaphors. It starts as if a grandparents is telling their grandchild a story, and wraps it up similarly at the end.

Poems like this take cool stories of heros and even mundane, yet important things, and makes them into art. These poems help keep the story alive. Poems make history even more captivating than it already is.

Poetry Problem #1

I would tell you to find a larger box, or to give up, but I get the feeling that fitting this poem in your box is important to you. Maybe you are shipping this box to your family abroad, maybe you are moving house. A larger box would mean paying extra for shipping, and what kind of a friend am I if I make you pay extra for shipping. So maybe I will try to help you in another way. You could tie the poem to a chair and beat it with a hose and then stuff it into a box. But the letters and spaces might escape and you might be left with a poem with no e’s or s’s. You could stack this poem up and send it outside to freeze. It still might not fit. You could talk to the poem gently, as if talking to a baby bunny, coaxing it into a box. You could give it an ultimatum. If you don’t get in this box, I will never read you aloud again. Or make it go on a diet. Vegan is in. But I think what the real solution here is that you should put this poem in a book, and not a box. Would you like to go into a box; a lonely pit of despair, shrouded in darkness? I don’t think so. But think about a book. A book brings the poem to it’s friends. A book you can easily put in a box. A book can be opened and shared easily. No duct tape required. I promise you that this poem will be happier in a book than in a box. This is my solution for you. 

Now this is all considering that the poem has to go in the box. But what if, it didn’t? After all, this is the 21st century, I’m sure you could email it to whoever you wanted to send this poem to. Or maybe you are a person who wants to store this poem away forever in a box in your attic. Maybe you are not a feminist and you support putting women and poems in boxes. Whatever it is, I urge you to reconsider your life choices, and think about whether you really should force this unwilling poem into this box. Let this poem roam free, follow its own path outside of this box.