First consider: Why do I write poetry? Because I want to capture, preserve, and
share experiences that I treasure or think are significant. I try to give an honest,
subjective portrayal of an experience, not an objective portrayal. That is what is so
attractive about poetry, there is no right or wrong, just who I am and what I
experience. At the core, most of us are very similar: human, so I believe the deeper I
can reach into my experience and share, the more universal it is, as Emerson suggests in
his essay Self Reliance.

The process of writing poetry may be compared to an
impressionist’s subjective rendition of a visual experience. In a poem, I am
communicating with words, in perhaps unusual ways, often not in logical, linear
ways, in an attempt to go beyond words into feelings or images, the goal being to
communicate directly with someone reading or listening to my poems, in hopes that
there is a resonance or a new perspective that induces a greater awareness of their
own being and their own experience.

That is why reading poetry can be exciting
and lead to new ideas, experiences and awareness!