A lot of people are writing poems and don't realize it. They have this limited idea of how the poem should sound or what subjects it should address.
Matthea HarveySome of my favorite poems are "confessional" poems written in the voices of aliens ("Southbound on the Freeway" by May Swenson" and "Report from the Surface" by Anthony McCann), sheep ("Snow Line" by John Berryman) or a yak ("The Only Yak in Batesville, Virginia" by Oni Buchanan).
Matthea HarveyIn my own writing, I've mostly abandoned end-rhyme, but wordplay is still a huge part of my process.
Matthea HarveyRecently, while I was in England, I saw a documentary on the BBC about the border between India and Pakistan at Wagah. When the border closes each evening around six o' clock, the soldiers on each side do these amazing high-stepping peacock march-offs (like a dance-off). The displays are almost identical on each side and thousands gather to watch them. Though they're patrolling along their separate borders, what comes across is how similar they are.
Matthea Harvey