very cool to find local poets.
i had forgotten about john donne, as burstroman mentioned him. i think i like him, too. he had a way of combining two very different ideas into one (forget the name for it) and yet the poems come out very well. ok. i found it at wikipedia 'john donne, master of the 'conceit,' an extended metaphor that combines two vastly unlike ideas into a single idea, often using imagery.' john would use metaphysical conceits - as with 'a valediction: forbidden mourning' where he compares two lovers separated to the two legs of a compass.
tend to like christian poetry the best - but, there's been poems of byron (stanzas for music) and others that suits my fancy, too. i think that whatever one is in the mood for. it's like music. if you have too much of one - you get tired and want something different.
american poetry is full of views of nature and patriotic pride. probably katharine lee bates is my fav.
cecil francis alexander, conrad aiken, john quincy adams, sarah flower adams
lots of poetry here:
www.theotherpages.org/poems/poem-ab.htmllove ballades.