Poet Jane Hirshfield said "... the feeling I have about poem-writing (is) that it is always an exploration, of discovering something I didn't already know. Who I am shifts from moment to moment, year to year. What I can perceive does as well. A new poem peers into mystery, into whatever lies just beyond the edge of knowable ground."
I bring a different poem to the writing classes each week, not only to inspire but to introduce new poets to the group members.
Our Precarious Joy by Alok Vaid-Menon
feeling is dangerous because it requires us to dwell in anguish, rather than anesthetize it (as if it never happened). so many fear joy because they fear losing it. they hate us because we live here — in this precarious joy — and we have found preciousness, still. it is far easier to desensitize ourselves to the world. but what about the romance of living? the tundra of grief, of striving, of becoming like every breath is an invitation to another way of being? what about the dignity of being? i won’t settle for anything less. i would rather weep than pretend. i would rather be hated than be digestible. i would rather be mirthful than meander around like happiness is some rare ray of light piercing through my window. it’s not that we are extra, it’s that we are feeling and you are not (or rather, you refuse). ~ from https://www.alokvmenon.com/blog/category/Poetry