Trashing other authors like too many of you have done in these comments is disgusting. I'm not referring to the author, just the nasty people here.

I’ve known Tessa for many years. She can be abrasive and stubborn, but she is also very bright and insightful.

My feelings about poetry are more nuanced than hers, but I agree with her in spirit. Good poetry has to be exceptional. Most of us will accept far more defects in writing than we will in poetry. The reason for that is buried in what each is trying to communicate; it seems that we demand more from poetry than writing.

That’s probably because prose is more common. It is everywhere: signs, labels, everywhere. It usually communicates more facts than emotions. When it does give us emotion, that’s an extra, a bonus.

Poetry is for emotion. Because it is less common and because emotion is harder to communicate in words, we are fussier.

Or Tessa and I are fussier. Perhaps you are not. I'm quite certain that those of you who put out bad poetry at Medium aren't fussy!

Trashing writers for opinion is not cool. Those who have done that should be ashamed of themselves.