Joy is a thing with Feathers

[tun]

Thank you for your honesty and constructive criticism. Can you teach me how to maintain the pulse you were talking about throughout the entire poem? I prefer to write free verse, but after rereading my work I see the lack of rhythm and cohesiveness throughout the piece.

'Freeverse' refers to any verse that is not identifiable as part of a recognized canon of designated forms - forms known as 'Metered Verse' - (Sonnet, Sestina, etc, etc, etc). If one says; 'Freeverse' - one is not necessarily referring to something that does not have a rhythmic unity and a logical and coherent pattern, internal consistency or musical form - just that whatever it is, does not conform to any of a set of formally or traditionally or generally recognized formal patterns. Unless one intentionally and strictly adopts one of the patterns in the set designated 'Metered Verse' for a piece, it is in the set 'freeverse'.

I think reading aloud is essential because it is the body that feels and knows what it likes before the mind. If you memorize and recite things that you enjoy - the body will learn to speak in the manner of that enjoyment. Your own speech will then tend to represent the same feeling of pleasure to you, previously experienced, but now, in your own original sense. One must memorize and recite whatever texts one enjoys saying most. That might be a poem, or it might be anything else at all. Whatever you enjoy reading/speaking most. You decide. The only thing anybody needs to learn is what it feels like in the body to say something which they truly enjoy saying. Poetry is just something, anything that you enjoy saying. You speak with your body.