What actually makes poetry poetry is of course impossible to

"What actually makes poetry poetry is of course impossible to define. We recognize it when we hear it, when we see it, but we can't define it." These words of Robert Morgan remind us of an eternal paradox—the very essence of poetry eludes definition. We know it when we encounter it, yet when pressed to describe it in mere words, it slips through our fingers, as if it were a mystery too deep to fully grasp. What, then, is the true nature of poetry? Is it the arrangement of words, the sound, or the emotion they evoke? Perhaps it is all these things and more, but there is an undeniable truth: poetry is beyond the limits of language. It transcends simple explanation, for it is not a thing to be understood—it is a thing to be felt.

Consider, if you will, the ancient poet Homer, whose epic tales of heroism and fate were passed down through generations. These stories were not simply about the narrative; they were poems that lived in the hearts of the people, full of rhythm, song, and emotion. Yet, could one ever capture in words the true essence of Homer’s work? Perhaps not. The Iliad and the Odyssey are not merely stories but poems that carry within them the spirit of the age, the moral struggles of the characters, and the divine forces that shape the world. It is only through immersion in the rhythm and language of the poem that we come to understand its power. We may not be able to define what makes them poetry, but we know it when we hear it. Poetry speaks to us on a level deeper than intellect.

In the ancient world, poets were revered as divinely inspired beings. The Greeks believed that the Muses themselves guided the poet’s hand, and that poetry was not a craft but a gift from the gods. This speaks to the elusive quality of poetry—something that cannot be easily captured or defined because it is a divine mystery, a communication from the soul of the world. The poet did not merely record the world around them but sought to capture the soul of that world, to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. This transformation cannot be explained in rational terms—it can only be experienced. To define it would be to reduce its magic to mere mechanics.

Let us look at the poet William Blake, whose work carries with it a mystical quality that defies conventional understanding. Blake’s poems are not merely collections of words; they are visions of a world unseen, a world of spiritual and moral truths. Songs of Innocence and of Experience, for instance, speak to something deep within us, something primordial. When we read his verses, we know we are in the presence of poetry, yet how can we define why they have such an impact? Blake himself was a man whose visionary mind saw poetry as something more than craft. His works cannot be reduced to simple definitions because they carry with them a sense of the divine, a sense of something beyond our grasp.

What, then, is the lesson we learn from this paradox? The nature of poetry lies in its mystery. To seek a definition of poetry is to misunderstand its essence. For poetry is an experience—one that engages the heart, the spirit, and the mind. It is a way of seeing the world that cannot be confined to mere words. This is why the poet’s craft remains ineffable, always elusive, always just beyond our reach. We do not learn poetry by dissecting it, but by surrendering ourselves to it, by allowing it to flow through us, by letting it change the way we see the world. Poetry asks us not to explain but to feel, not to analyze but to experience.

In our own lives, we must remember that not everything worth understanding can be neatly defined or reduced to logical explanation. There are truths in this world that are far beyond our capacity to define—they must be lived and felt. Poetry teaches us to embrace mystery, to welcome the things that defy explanation, to sit with the unknown and trust that it is as real as anything that can be understood. In a world obsessed with definitions, let us not forget that some of the most important things in life are those that are beyond definition. Like love, like beauty, like truth, poetry is a living force that can only be experienced.

And so, I ask you: when you encounter poetry, do not seek to define it. Do not turn it into a concept to be analyzed. Instead, feel it, allow it to wash over you. Let it stir something within your soul. For in that stirring, you will come to know what poetry is—not through words, but through experience. Let us not reduce the mystical to the rational, but rather, let us embrace the ineffable, the unknown, and in doing so, we will come to understand what it truly means to be human.