Week 8: Poetry Is

in lonesome darkness

Week 8: Poetry Is

poetry lives in lonesome darkness

Poetry Is

Poetry is a way of describing the world not as it is, or even how I wish for it to be, but how it actually feels to be in the world.

Poetry is singing in the dark, not because singing in the dark turns on some secret light, but because singing in the dark makes me feel less alone and afraid.

Poetry is like digging deep into the soil, knowing that the ground must be disturbed, before any new life can take root.

Poetry is giving love and grief a voice, believing spoken truth carries within it, the power to heal all wounds.

Description: This piece is a reflective ars poetica—a meditation on what poetry is and why it matters. It defines poetry not as escape or idealization, but as an honest expression of lived experience, capturing emotional truth rather than objective reality. Through metaphors of darkness, song, and soil, it presents poetry as both solace and disruption: a way to endure fear, disturb what is buried, and give voice to what needs to be spoken.

Reflection: How would you describe what poetry is for you? What does it feel like for you to be in this world? What unspoken truth(s) inside you needs voice for you to heal?