Bald Eagle, I was making a provoking move in this 2400 year old argument just to see what happened. Plato believed that art is misleading because it is representational, and so is seductive, but is in fact a copy of something which is itself a copy of a purer ideal which is the "real" reality (sort of two Xeroxes away). Since poetry can conjure up worlds in the imagination -- i.e. one contributes to their creation -- it is even more seductive, dangerous. These would be his arguments against rock videos on MTV. (similar thing: art+ poetry+music). The study of truth should be left to reasoners, philosophers.
Aristotle, on the other hand, says that poetry is truer to the real nature of things than say history, because the poet can see into the truth of things, while history is just a mess of facts. Homer's poem about Troy is more real than the real Trojan War. The poet captures the shape of the truth, and conveys it in masterful form, particularly in myth.
In that sense it is deeper than philosophy (not that Aristotle would say that).

I am of course using poetry in the widest sense -- poesis, creative making -- not limericks. The question is: is there a truth deeper than can be reached by reasoning, or, more accurately, Truth itself which is better served by poetry. It could of course be all nonsense: there may be no higher truths at all. Makes for a good winter debate, especially if you are in Greece!!!!!

yours, Peter T.