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.

So I Can Sleep by Jonathan Byrd

I like poets who swear 
less is more
earthy abbreviations of long histories
with parents
with the world
with God dammit

I write things down so I can say them again

I like poets who obviously wash dishes
the sound of service in service to words
checking both sides of a sound
for anything that might send it back into the water

you write things down so you never have to say them again

I like poets who write short books so I can sleep

~ from You’ve Changed (Mezcalita Press, 2017)