POETRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20288, 22 June 1929, Page 6 (Supplement)

POETRY.

BX EDNA GRAHAM MACKT. Poetry is the expression of tlio soul, fts old as sorrow,' primitive as joy. His ' tory does not'tell ns when man first began to piace vocal sounds in rhythmic order to express the emotion of his heart, but it is to'/the ancient Babylonian priests that we owe the earliest recorded version t of poetry. Tho chant, or incantation, was used in Eastern religions rites, mainly for tho purpose of placating some super natural power, whether good or evil, for casting spells or charms. Repetition, assonance and alliteration (entered largely into the composition of these chants, or incantations, and tho modern poets make use of tho same liter ary devices to create atmosphere and mesmeric effects. Rhyme did not enter into the ancient formula, but was tho invention of later, more sophisticated bards To the beat of the waves upon the shore, the song of birds, the sigh of tho wind among the trees, the ancient poets went for their simple measures. Every- ' thing in Naturo has a regular beat, is marked by run and pause, ebb and flow j The heart throbs to a certain tune, tho sap runs intci the plants and out again in regular seasons, marking time liko the sand in an hour glass. The moon and the stars have their prescribed pace and < orbit, the earth wheels on its axis at definite intervals. No wonder men sought to express their deepest feelings in rhythmic fashion. Among all native peoples you will find this innate sense of rhythm and beat, their chanfs and incantations, their tomtoms and war dances. Children naturally respond to poetry, to simple, sing-song metres. Teachers all kno«v how difficult it is to get the young child to read prose or recite the multiplication tabic without resorting to rhyth mic intonation. Indeed, children are able to memorise long nursery rhymes more quickly than the shortest prose sentence. Some emotional people keep this sense of rhythm activo all their lives, and use it in the expression of their innermost thoughts. These are tho poets. The dryest facts and statistics can be taught to children if little rhymes or ' jingles are woven about the subject. How many of us could have remembered the number of days in each month if it had not been for tho famous old " Thirty Days hath September?" This is not poetry in the highest sense of the word, but it serves to illustrate the power of speech when rhythmically expressed. Emotional people love poetry. Most . women .read it and enjoy it. Young men in love/are given to quoting verse, if not actually writing it. Most practical men of tho world profess to scorn it, but may Surreptitiously turn to poetry for comfort The Bible is full of poetry —not tU« rhyming kind —hut the deep, majestic poetry ' that is soul-satisfying. The Psalms, the Song of Solomon, The Lord's Prayer, are unequalled at poetic compositions. Poetry offers an escape from the realities of life; it casts a sort of 1 spell upon the mind and charms the spirit into a state of trance or exaltatiorf. I have been reading some of the ancient Maori incantations, and they are most beautiful. Children of Nature need no tuition in the ait of poetry. Hero is a Maori incantation said to be used by the explorer, Tamatea, six centuries ago when he landed in New Zealand in the canoe, Takitumu: / J come -where a new land 13 under my foot, " v V T here a new sky is over my head: Here on this' new land I stand, A home for me. 1 O, Spirit of the Earth, a stianger offers his heart to thee ' Of all the comparatively modern poets Walt Whitman sings nearer to tho tune of Nature. Indeed, one might read tho above chant and deem it had been taken wol'-d for 'word from ono of Whitman's poems under the title, " Leaves of Grass." Anyone witii a good education can be taught to write prose to a degree of excellence, but the true poet is born with tho song in his heart.