If you’re lucky, people in your life teach you things by example, like how to be strong and how to be brave. I had a friend who, when diagnosed with cancer and given a terrible prognosis, said to me, “Well, everyone dies eventually. It’s just a matter of when.” I have another friend who sold her house and so many of her belongings and moved solo across the country because she needed a life change. I have yet another friend who lost her father when he was too young and later her mother, and she grieved but she also got out of bed the next morning and took care of her son.
If you’re lucky, and willing, you take these lessons and get a little braver and stronger yourself. And if you’re very lucky, your family members teach you, too. I’m one of the very lucky ones. My parents and sister have taught me how to be strong and brave and to have faith in myself.
The following poem by Jin Cordaro made me think about all these things. I read it months ago for the first time, yet it’s a poem I found so remarkable it hasn’t left me since:
This poem was first published in Cider Press Review and is reprinted here with permission from the poet. The title of this blog is the title of this poem. Thank you, Jin Cordaro, for this stunning poem. It’s become one of my all-time favorites.
It’s National Poetry Month. Every week during the month of April, I have shared a poem I love from a contemporary writer. I hope it piqued your interest in poetry, if it needed to be piqued, and that it showed you that a really great poem can be accessible to all.
For next week, our final NPM week, I will be sharing a poem of my own.
If you missed the other poems I featured, you can find them here and here and here.
“See” you all next week!
Photo credit: Edan Cohen from Unsplash.com
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Having a hard time finding inspiration and motivation to write? Join me for any (or all) of these online one-hour sessions on Tuesdays at noon EST. We’ll talk about a piece of writing, I will give you a prompt, and then you will WRITE in the genre of your choosing. These workshops are in partnership with Press 53. Cost: $10/session. Register for any of them here.
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