My teacher asked me what I thought poetry

My teacher asked me what I thought poetry
was, what constituted a literary work
where a "special intensity is given to
the expression of feelings and ideas;"

she asked me whether poetry always rhymed
or what different kinds of poetry there were,
and I wondered if the plain language of
a song or a conversation could qualify.

But the rebellious dadaist inside me felt
giving an answer was doing a disservice
to the humble artists singing around us.

I don't know whether poetry should be
something rhythmical and metaphorical
or just the language we're always using.