Purpose of Poetry

For the money and adulation of course!

I couldn't really pick any one reason either. Art, kind of. Communication, kind of. Sometimes it's about the intellectual gymnastics required to create a piece that is 'just so'- much like the pleasure of completing a crossword or sudoku. But I want to provoke a reaction, encapsulate a situation or complex series of emotions, even just make you laugh. And then its just about capturing those chattering words to shut them up! Some work comes easily but other pieces require hours of work. If I didn't enjoy the mental activity then why would I bother at all?