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.
How To Be Alone by Padraig O’Tuama
It all begins with knowing nothing lasts forever. So you might as well start packing now. But, in the meantime, practice being alive. There will be a party where you’ll feel like nobody’s paying you attention. And there will be a party where attention’s all you’ll get. What you need to do is know how to talk to yourself between these parties. And, again, there will be a day, — a decade — where you won’t fit in with your body even though you’re in the only body you’re in. You need to control your habit of forgetting to breathe. Remember when you were younger and you practiced kissing on your arm? You were on to something then. Sometimes harm knows its own healing comfort its own intelligence. Kindness too. It needs no reason. There is a you telling you a story of you. Listen to her. Where do you feel anxiety in your body? The chest? The fist? The dream before waking? The head that feels like it’s at the top of the swing or the clutch of gut like falling & falling & falling and falling It knows something: you’re dying. Try to stay alive. For now, touch yourself. I’m serious. Touch your self. Take your hand and place your hand some place upon your body. And listen to the community of madness that you are. You are such an interesting conversation. You belong here. ~ Copyright © 2019 by Pádraig Ó Tuama