Every poem has a story. Here’s one of mine.
I want to share something personal with you today—one of the poems from Life-Preservers.
This poem, Nature, wasn’t written in the traditional sense. It was found—hidden in plain sight, waiting to be uncovered. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what I was creating. But looking back, I realize it was revealing something about me, about all of us.
Nature
Go into yourself,
write,
confess,
dig deep,
die.
Question everything.
Build your life,
your whole life
toward this impulse;
Nature.
When I pieced these words together, I wasn’t just writing a poem—I was mapping out a process of self-discovery. Nature is about stripping everything away, questioning what we’ve been told, and rebuilding our lives in alignment with who we truly are.
That’s what Life-Preservers is about, too. Poetry has always been my way of navigating uncertainty, and found poetry, in particular, became my way of listening to what was already there—both in the world and within myself.
Next time, I’ll share how my Christian upbringing, my later embrace of Taoism, and my study of Stoicism shaped this collection and the way I see poetry, art, and life itself.
Until then, what does Nature make you feel? Hit reply and tell me—I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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