Dear Editor:

As we are inching towards an emotional date in the history of our country we are also watching the breakup of another – Europe. Poetry is a language form that predates us all. Beginning in our youth books that rhyme or have a rhythmic flow is how we acquire our native language. Many poems are the formation of songs that stream sadness, joy, marching high energy, and courage to overcome challenges deep within us.

Poetic verse made it easier to remember oral history – before writing, before books, and before the internet. Poetry often draws a rhythmic picture of nature’s uneven world. When well done it gets under our skin causing our emotional side to reflect on the power and meaning of the words.

Research that specifically compared poetry to prose, found evidence that poetry activates brain regions associated with introspection – making poetry and song a highly motivating tool.

So it should not surprise you why a poem of attorney Francis Scott Key, was turned into a song that emotes freedom, space, joy, courage and serenity every year it is sung in every corner of the world. “The Star Spangled Banner” was not a song in its first reading, but rather a poem reflecting on the results of the British 25-hour attack on Baltimore’s Fort McHenry. The poem gave power and courage when at the end of the battle, the American flag “was still there.”

Edgecomb’s Center for Teaching and Learning elementary school teaches written poetic expression and enters national contests — often winning. Children with less factual knowledge often suggest surprisingly beautiful feelings and understandings that the more knowledgeable adult can appreciate, but is less likely to create in their own writings. My son, at age 4, while riding with me to preschool at 5:30 a.m., logically noted that every day the sun eats the stars and every night new stars are born — a beautiful poetic image early in life.

So, on this July 4, remember that poetry is a powerful tool that keeps us alive even after 25 hours of battle. Independence Day is best celebrated with the power of words in the “Star Spangled Banner” that survived guns and cannons.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb