Free verse is not poetry because it generally lacks poetic elements. Metaphor and simile appear occasionally, but meter and rhyme don't. Therefore, it's not poetry...
  I disagree that such elements are left out. Though free verse poetry does not require a specific arrangement of rhyme and meter throughout the poem, it still uses vowel sounds, pacing, and the emphasis of syllables to create a mood or emphasize a word or line. For these purposes, some free verse poems go so far as to use highly noticeable rhyme or meter in one or two selected places.
  I also don't believe that free verse poetry's division of lines is pressing the "enter" key whenever it looks convenient. A new line has to come up somewhere, and just as a sonnet writer doesn't waste a line just because he needs to make it rhyme, a free verse poet also uses line breaks to add some punch, create pacing, and make each thought count.

  So I would have to conclude that free verse is poetry and even stands up to your attacks on it.