Roses are red, violets are blue, Happy National Poetry Day to you

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — National Poetry Day is observed every year on the first Thursday in October. Poetry lovers enjoy the literary style for its rhyme, rhythm, cadence and creative language. But, local poet Mark D. Bennion says poems do not have to rhyme, and often, his own poetry does not.

"There's closed form poetry and open form poetry or free verse," Bennion explained. "And you can write both. Both are very popular, and both have their advantages and disadvantages."

Bennion grew up in Wisconsin, Utah and Idaho. In his undergraduate days, he studied at both Ricks College and Brigham Young University, majoring in English and minoring in Korean. He now teaches composition, creative writing and literature courses at BYU-Idaho. He is the author of four poetry collections.

During a live interview, Bennion shared one of the verses from his poetry collection "Beneath the Falls: Poems." Overall, the collection explores different moments in life from peace and tragedy to birth and death. Many of the poems were inspired by Bennion's experiences with his family. He believes anyone can write poetry if they genuinely work to describe the simple things in life.

"I think you take small experiences," he said. "It may be something like petting the dog or saying goodbye to your daughter. Taking a little moment, a little snapshot and try to capture it."

Bennion says his poetry collections are sold at the BYU-Idaho bookstore in Rexburg.