Different jars

There will be no return to the “salad days” of poetry, not because there is no longer an attachment between the great-ones that have lain along the worn road of poetry & those lucky few whom choose similar roads, but because we are unwilling to see what exists in our own jars of creativity. It seems that we either steal from our predecessors—making it so new poets are no different than the old—or feign growing & learning in our private, sealed jars. A jar is only what is inside of it. If left empty, it is no longer a jar. Too often, poets seem speaking to & taking from the same old jar. There is nothing wrong with old jars, but if we do not fill in old jars with new content, all is lost. Broken into five sections, Different Jars analyzes the place of the poet today through a lens of religion, family, war, city-life & our predecessors. While inspecting what was poetry & what has it done for us lately, the poems beg one question: What is poetry? Though similar themes & questions breathe in the manuscript, the use of portmanteaus (or cobbled-words) to comment on attachments made with poetry & words—both individually & as a society—was essential. If a jar is opened & used enough, some spills will occur. The beauty of it—the poetry—is in what is left on our countertops, a mix of many flavors. The question for the reader is what tastes best.M.F.A.by Scott Michael OliverPoem