Like any art form, poetry is considered universal. It ranks with music, dance, and fine arts as a form or process of expressing Man's thoughts and passions. Unlike other art forms, however, poetry -- and in fact literature -- has a peculiar characteristic. As a medium it uses language, and unlike other mediums -- like rocks, paints, beat -- language is not universal, it is cultural. Since culture varies according to geography, time, religion, and gender -- it is without doubt that there are multitudes of different languages. Thus poetry becomes cultural or non-universal in form, a characteristic that confines the production and reception of poetry to people tha