Novelist and memoirist Robert Stone said, “Writing is lonely. […] But most of the time you are in a room by yourself, you know. Writers spend more time in rooms, staying awake in quiet rooms, than they do hunting lions in Africa. So, it’s a bad life for a person because it’s so lonely and because it consists of such highs and lows, and there’s not always anywhere to take these emotional states. […] It’s a life that’s tough to sustain without falling prey to some kind of beguiling diversion that’s not good for you.”

That, in part, is why I write poetry. I don’t spend all day in rooms writing nor, on the other hand, have I ever hunted lions in Africa (as does Donald Trump, Jr.). I have a relatively short attention span. I’m an extravert leaning toward introversion. Jogging, anyone? For 50 years, it has been meditatively, physically, spiritually, emotionally good for me. And the lion sleeps tonight. 😇

And poet Ellen Hinsey wrote, “Contrary to a generally held view, poetry is a very powerful tool because poetry is the conscience of a society. […] No individual poem can stop a war — that’s what diplomacy is supposed to do. But poetry is an independent ambassador for conscience: It answers to no one, it crosses borders without a passport, and it speaks the truth. That’s why … it is one of the most powerful of the arts.”

Well, I’ll clap for that…. 👏

*quotes from The Writer’s Almanac, August 21, 2020