Is poetry dead in America

This is a true story. I walked into a place called Blue Ridge bookstore in Wytheville, Virginia. I just moved into town and I wanted to check out what they had. I said hi to the guy behind the counter as I walked in. Just looking around at first and that's when it dawned on me that I didn't see any poetry books. I turned and asked the man, " Where is your poetry section? " He pointed and said, " It's right next to you." I looked and it was the end of the shelf, with three small boards boxed in. At the maximum, it would fit about thirty paperbacks, and there were six books. I walked up to the counter and asked, " Where are all your poetry books? " He replied, " Don't you know poetry is dead in America? " I looked him right in the eye and told him, " Your wrong mister, they just haven't read anything good lately. The world was bread on great poetry and Shakespear most of all, is still entertaining us to this day. His plays are done in schools every year and all over the world. So no, poetry is not dead in this country or any place else. Most regular folks don't read it and that's because either they don't understand it or it's just plain boring. That's exactly why I am going to come out with a book of poetry they can relate to. That's the kind of thing that could pump it back into the mainstream of society. " He looked at me for a few seconds, shook his head and said this, " Your right you know, I just never thought about that way before. " Then I said goodbye and walked out. No matter what happens in the next two hundred years, poetry will always be apart of this country and the world. That is one of the reasons I added some of my poetry to my first book, " I Could Be Killing You " So everyone that reads it, will be reading poetry and that is just the first step towards putting my poetry book out into all their hands. If I'm lucky, I can get a whole new crowd reading poetry and not because someone forces it on them. It will be because they can relate, it's not boring them to death and they understand why they are enjoying it. I hope you all think about that, and until next time.

                                                                   Writer in Limbo