I Think This Is True

I Have Never Thought I Could Take It, Not Even For The Children. It Is All I Have Wanted To Do, To Stand Between Them And And Pain. But I Come From A Long Line Of Women Who Put Themselves First.

Writing Or Making Anything-a Poem, A Bird Feeder, A Chocolate Cake-has Self-respect In It. You're Working. You're Trying. You're Not Lying Down On The Ground, Having Given Up.

I Did Not Deceive Him, He Did Not Deceive Me, I Did Not Leave Him, He Did Not Leave Me, I Freed Him, He Freed Me.

Every Poet I Know - Although There May Be Some I Don't Know Who Lead Very Different Lives, Who Maybe Live In The Country And Don't Teach - Tends To Be Just Like The Rest Of Us: Just Really Busy, Really Overcommitted.

My Poems - I Don't Even Like The Sound Of That, In A Way. Not That Anyone Else Wrote Them. But We Know That Only People Who Are Really Close To Us Care About Our Personal Experience.