Is Anyone Interested in Poetry?

Maybe this is cliche, but I like writing poetry. I like reading it too, although not so much as writing it.

A while ago I got a volume of E.E. Cummings' poetry out of the library. Read a little bit, rejected it because it made zero sense. I read two of Mary Oliver's books (A Thousand Mornings and Blue Horses) and I thought, This is what poetry should be! I thought I loved Nikita Gill's poems. Got a book of hers and realized that all the poems were the same. (I'm sorry, Nikita; they were beautiful.) Recently I read Poems 1965-1975, by Seamus Heaney. Decided that Seamus Heaney is not, despite his poem "Scaffolding", my cup of tea.

You know what, let me share "Scaffolding" with you. He wrote this in 1998. Although I don't care for his body of work as a whole, I do love this poem.

Masons, when they start upon a building,

Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won't slip at busy points,

Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job's done

Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be

Old bridges breaking between you and me

Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall

Confident that we have built our wall.

Isn't that beautiful?

But who actually cares about poetry? Does anybody read it? 

Or are we all writing it?

I think it's important to know about every part/side/angle of each task we undertake. So while writing poetry feels wonderful and helps us to let go of thoughts, emotions, and anxieties in a nourishing manner, I believe reading others' poetry is important as well.

That being said, here's a poem I wrote a few days ago.

The flock of birds rises from the field

Like a beaded headdress,

Each bird in its place

Like a pearl.

That's all I have to say! What do you think about poetry? Do you like reading it or writing it better? Which do you think is more important?

Thanks for reading my ramblings,

KB