* Poetry is the art of writing poems, or the body of poems as a whole. It's a broader term that encompasses the entire field of writing in verse.
* Poem is a specific work of poetry, a piece of writing composed in verse. It's a singular, individual creation within the larger field of poetry.
Think of it like this:
* Poetry is like the genre of music (rock, classical, jazz, etc.)
* Poem is like a specific song (Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine, Stairway to Heaven, etc.)
So, while poetry and poem are interconnected, "poetry" refers to the art and its collection, while "poem" designates a single piece of work within that art.