CAN POETRY CHANGE THE WORLD?

I believe a good poem can change the world — one person at a time. I believe a good poem can give one hope. I believe a good poem can give one strength. I believe a good poem can help somebody feel less alone. I believe a good poem can inspire forgiveness. I believe a good poem can help one cross a difficult bridge. I believe a good poem can open one's ears to music, and make one want to dance.

I believe a good poem is like a prayer — it can help one see the moon and stars — on a very dark night. I believe a good poem can change the world — one person at a time. In fact, this beautiful and simple late poem (by Anne Sexton: 1928—1974), changed my life for the better: It made me focus less on myself, and more on the world. It made me both happy and sad. It made me want to live. It made me want to become a poet. Isn't it ironic?

WELCOME MORNING

There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry 'hello there, Anne'
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean, though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
to a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So, while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter in the morning,
lest it go unspoken.

The joy that isn't shared, I've heard,
dies young.

—Anne Sexton

Essay © 2009 by Dylan Mitchell