I strongly believe that poetry is a bit lost these days. Many people fear poetry; many people are never introduced to poetry (beyond Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein). I was thankfully introduced to poetry informally in middle school through a teacher of mine who just encouraged me to read poetry but not "study" it and then formally introduced in college and graduate school.
My experience with poetry is an interesting cycle I have discovered when talking through it with my students. One one hand, I would probably prefer to know poetry informally most days - to appreciate the beauty of the language on the surface level and to not delve too deeply into the larger meaning. With that said, I don't know if I was able to appreciate without first being taught techniques surrounding tone, diction, figurative language, etc. Having an comprehensive understanding of these things provided a new perspective on poetry that I think allows me to truly enjoy reading a poem, and it is that base knowledge I want to provide your students. I don't want them to be afraid of poetry but feel confident in their abilities.
Below are some quotes that I have come upon this year as I complete my own study on poetry while the students do as well. They are not necessarily my own philosophy, but they have peaked my interest for one reason or another.
"Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth." ~Samuel Johnson
"One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose." ~Voltaire
"Always be a poet, even in prose." ~Charles Baudelaire
"Out of the quarrel with others, we make rhetoric; our of the quarrel with ourselves, we make poetry." ~W.B. Yeats
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