Poetic Documentary films are one genre that I will admit I did not completely understand at first.  However, I have come to discover some of the characteristics of Poetic Documentary films after watching a few of them both in class and in my spare time.
Documentary films are typically focused on a single subject that can be broken down into smaller matters of discussion when analyzed.  They tend to have a lot of symbolism, and meaning behind the prime subject which is how in a sense it makes the film poetic.  There are a few examples we watched in class, but I would like to discuss the film "Rain" which obviously given the name was about rain drops and the situations, atmosphere and environment that we find ourselves colliding with it.  I really liked the comment that one student made about how the film showed humans dominance over the element of water.  it showed men walking in puddles, driving boats over lakes etc.  It seemed like one of the hidden messages that could only be seen if analyzed.
One example of a poetic documentary that I watched on youtube had a similar message.  It was called gravity and basically showed how nature and mankind interacts with gravity.  It was really cool and showed how mainly humans try to defy gravity by jumping or flying through the air on a bike or some other instrument, but in the end they are all subject to gravity's will and fall.  It has a sense of poetry in the symbolism behind we desire to defy the limits placed in front of us, but sooner or later we must face reality.
Some poetic documentaries can inspire because they give off a sense of emotion that is found in the prime subject of the film.  Sucksdorff a documentary filmmakers traveled the world making documentaries before he settled in Brazil and began to make a film about a Brazilian school.  Later on his work started to become more fictional and made a poetic documentary film that spread throughout other nations Including Nazi occupied lands.
Poetic Documentary films seem to have a interestingly deeper meaning behind the image, but we must first look hard to see what the message is and then our vision will be enhanced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pA33mf6ouw - Gravity film