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.

Vera Pavlova, 3 poems

9				

I broke your heart.
Now barefoot I tread	
on shards.


17

Why is the word yes so brief
It should be
the longest,
the hardest,
so that you could not decide in an instant to say it,
so that upon reflection you could stop
in the middle of saying it.


59

Writing down verses, I got	
a paper cut on my palm.
The cut extended my life line	
by nearly one-fourth.

~ from If There Is Something to Desire (Alfred A Knopf, 2010)
Translated from the Russian by Steven Seymour