Poems for Your Weekend

✨ Greatest Hits Edition ✨

Dear Friends,

I woke up thinking about those poems that seem to always be making the internet rounds to the delight or irritation of readers. I imagine the latter group is comprised of those same individuals who cringe at the opening notes of “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.

I suspect there’s an implicit belief that the circulation of one poem comes at the expense of another. But I’m not sure it works that way. I would like for all poems to find their audience, but I do mean their audience, their particular readers. And this won’t look the same for every poem. A poem’s visibility doesn’t guarantee engagement or enjoyment. And writing with the express hope or purpose of engagement is almost guaranteed to fail. That’s manufacturing without the lifeblood of inspiration, insight, or whatever we want to call what drives us to the page.

Taking care to withhold cynicism, we might ask ourselves instead what makes these poems resonate with audiences. And I’d argue that instead of dismissing those traits, we celebrate them and cheer on the poets who have reached poets and non-poets widely. Perhaps we even stop using “accessible” as a pejorative—a poem can be both understood upon first or second read and be finely crafted, just as a poem can be bedeviling on first read and yield its treasures on each subsequent one. (Conversely, a poem can also be clear and dull, or difficult and flat.)

So, friends, please enjoy this round up of poems you’ve likely seen before with past eyes, but it’s who you are today that will be reading them. I’ve cheekily included one of my own that continues to surprise me with its internet lifespan.

As always, let me know which most spoke to you.

xM

by Laura Gilpin

by Elizabeth Appell

✨ Doors to my writing community, Conscious Writers Collective, open September 1. Designed as an MFA alternative, we’re a group of writers who meet five times a month for classes taught by me, publishing experts, and some of the best writers around. There are 40+ hours of past craft classes & workshops you can watch at your own pace, multiple forums devoted to literature and publishing, and an area to swap writing with members for feedback. Enrollment is limited to 15 new members each month. Join the waitlist here. ✨