One thing I can definitively say is that there are a lot of great poets here at OS. I looked at as many poems as I could, both those that I found myself, and those that were recommended to me.

 "What is a poem" has been debated since the days of Aristotle, when he published his controversial "Poetics." There are as many definitions and ideas about poetry as there are poets.

Here is one definition that I found online that kind of jives with my notion of what constitutes a poem:

 "Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define."

So the battle over "what is poetry" rages on. I am not an "expert" on poetry, but I know what I like. What I have tried to include in the PPs are those poems that make a powerful statement, evoke an emotion, and makes one think. It is that simple.

There are some choices that rhyme; some that don't. Some that have perfect rhyme and pentamic verse, and some that treat words like a great tapestry or mosaic that paints a picture with those words. Some are short, some are long, and some that don't have a definitive structure or use "traditional" poetic style. I like them all, and I hope you do also.

If I missed you or someone you know, please send me a PM, and I will include them in the batch for the next go-around. Thanks.

So, click on the video below while you read the poetry.  By the way, the video and PP theme song, "Sweet Poetry" was written, produced, and performed by Kit Duncan, with special effects and logistical support provided by Monkey Sue.

So, without further ado, here are the PPs for this week.  Sorry for the long list, but I believe they are all worthy of your reading.

1. Persistent Muse - The Wall 
2. Wendy Lynn - Small
3. Romantic Poetess - Old Fashioned Buttery Poetry Moment 
4. Eck Cohen - What I Have Now
5. Vanessa Seijo - Will You Not Taste The Poison 
6. Poppi Iceland - Gray Skies Tonight and Tomorrow 
7. Jan Sand - Composing
8. Lorianne - How I Got Lost On Open Salon 
9. Bluish Mood - Samantha 
10. Persistent Muse - Vessels:  A Brief Musing
11. Divorce Bard:  For writing a poem every day since Jan 1. 2010
12. Pavanne Veltman - Insomnia
13. Con Chapman - To Lie Fallow 
14. Shannon McKenzie - Lesbian Poetry 
15. Scanner - Hate 
16. Melanie Murphy - He Kisses Me 
17. Romantic Poetess - Sweet Paradise Moment 
18. Mark R. Trost - A Small Confession 
19. Lorianne - Fixin' A Hole Where The Rain Gets In 
20. Patrick Frank - In Dawn Light (prose-poetry) 
21. Irania - Timeless Orgasms
22. Junk1 - Lewd and Wanton Misbehavior 
23. Jali - Can You Count? 

24. J D Smith - A Runaway I Could Have Helped; But Failed

25. Bluish Mood - The Temple 
26. Just Thinking - My Ex-Husband is Here -- A Saving Grace
27. Ladyslipper - Tenderness 
28. Zyskandar Jaimot - Under Kokovoko (Posthumously)
29. Oryoki Bowl - Poem:  A Martyr Gets Enlightened 
30. Leon Freilich - Jailhouse Rite
31. Cindy Ross - Pieta 
32. Little Kate - Ecstasy 
33. Mhold - Pedestrian Poem
34. MarianneSp - Poem Poppet 

35. Dlvstudent - Treat a Lady

36. MLee S. - Forbidden Treasure