My Personal Definition of Poetry - PEDM I

I have been a poet for as long as I can remember. I was put into the "Gifted and Talented" program when I was extremely young (although, I think it might just be because I was a disturbed little child and they figured I should get out of the room more.) This program worked like this:

7:50-8:00 : Regular morning class.
8:00-10:30 : Sit in front of a computer and pretend to write poetry for the first 2.4 hours. Write a few lines in the last .1 of the time.
10:30-11:30 : Get poetry looked at by teacher. Be intimidated. Possibly cry. Go back to computer in corner of room and edit. Try to steal lollipop from closet next to you.
11:30-12:00 : Lunch
12:00-2:00 : Do math problems. Be confused.

I was in this program for four years, as I started my 2nd grade year and continued until I went to middle school. At middle school I had a similar situation, but I wasn't allowed to do both math and poetry, so I dropped the math.
Getting off topic, here. My point is: I wrote poems from a very young age. It has always been a part of me. When I'm inspired, I drop what I'm doing and write down a few lines or just an idea and pick it up in a few days, or sometimes weeks, when it has sat in the back of my mind long enough for something to be formulated.
Anyway, on to what this blog was supposed to be about.
I'm currently doing a unit in poetry in AP Language and Literature. One of the short answer prompts was "Your personal definition of what poetry is and a short paragraph explaining."
So this is what I wrote:


“Poetry is a form of expression that uses rhythm, pauses, emphasis,
and sometimes rhyme to convey a story or emotion to its reader.”

Some people believe that poems are just stories broken up in weird ways, and to some extent, that is true. However, if a poem means more to you than just words, or if you study poetry, you’ll see that there’s a bit more behind it. I happened to write a poem about what poetry meant to me in seventh grade.

Poetry

A way to express my feelings,
To let it all out.
A way to tell everything,
To those willing to think.

To me a poem is more than the words. It’s what you don’t say. It’s the hidden meanings. It’s the emotion someone feels when reading it. It’s the way the rhythm works to make you look at one word, and have it mean more than what a dictionary can tell you about it. Poetry is hidden expression.