Why do I read and write Poetry...

A gentle invitation to begin reading great poems.

Photo by Hans Veth on Unsplash

Poetry is a creative reminder that we are human. Poetry traces our shared humanity and offers us solidarity with others who have come before us and who will come after us.

Words written in stanzas and verse— poems become a clarion call to remain human with deep feelings, burning passion, holy longings, unedited tears and combustible laughter.

Poems are the language of humanity, written as long as there have been humans beings upon this Earth. Poetry links our humanity across eons of years, different cultures and distinctive voices. We are connected across nations; through religions and hues of our skin. Poetry is the internal and eternal heart of a human being.

Poems offer us solidarity to celebrate our shared humanity and to resist powers and forces that rob us of our dignity through our rhyme and reason.

In an age where we idolize technology; worship speed and submit to artificial intelligence, poetry is a language of all things soul. It is the language spoken at the intersection of world and self; of soul and longing and grief and lament in a world where logic and everything linear is celebrated, poetry lifts the ladle to expose that which a poems dredges up; that heavy mystery of soul.

In this present age, where anxiety is high; threat is great and doom feels closer than we want, let us turn to poetry for inspiration, comfort and community.—perhaps even this: Let us feel the hope that poems invite us to possess this once again.

Just this morning, I turned to a poem, which is my custom these days and I was deeply moved—and this particular poem I sat with tended my soul. As some of you know I lead an online Poetry group which meets monthly to read and reflect on two poems that we sit with and use to connect with one another. It’s a highlight of my work now to do this; write poems and above all to read them. It is what is saving me life these days.

Here’s my poem about poetry. I hope it might inspire you to read poems—especially now—perhaps now, more than ever in your life. My poem explains why.

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