PoetryMine Poetry Mine

It goes without saying, but lets say it anyway,
the immortal poets had a way with words.
Many have been read for hundreds of years,
yet poetry lovers today still read them in herds.
The poets withstanding the ravage of time
are not on a short list, as one might expect.
I’ll make no attempt to name them all here,
to omit even one would be lack of respect.
But, dear readers, you’ve already thought of many,
and chances are your list is similar to mine.
The ones that wrote words that will never die
were blessed with pure genius not short of divine.
Oh, to think of the times when their words were penned,
the early immortals wrote with quills straight from a bird,
dipped into ink made from linseed oil, soot and pitch
and scribbled on sheep or goat parchment, every word.
For them, electricity and computer were words never heard,
and writing at night required expensive candles or oil lamps.
No dictionaries were available to help convey their thoughts,
so they often made up words to give a poem needed ramps.
Oh how it must feel to have such God given talent!
But of that my ability and mind can only dream,
truly immortal poets are one in a million,
and we, the majority, learn to live with less esteem.