Poetry & Fiction 401

The professor said:
There are no rules to poetry!
This is the 21st Century, the post-modern age.

No more stanzas, enjambments,
       or measured metrics
the English language is rich with words
       so let the poem flow.
Proper capitalization and correct
        punctuation are key.

Forget about using rhyme or any forms
        villanelles, quatrains, sestinas, sonnets,
                           haïkus
                             and
                        pantoums
                are dead and buried.

No poetic devises, no alliteration.

You can’t write like Keats or Frost,
          so don’t even try.
Avoid being abstract and no topics
          dealing with politics or religion.

Minimalism is the rule, one subject one poem.

Be short and precise,
         be clear and concise,
                show me, don’t tell me.

There are no rules to poetry!
But what she meant was:
           Write like me!

Perhaps the class should be renamed
            fictional poetry