Why We Turn to Poets

A little girl said to me, last year, "Poetry has been eating all my problems." And I said, "What do you mean by that?" And she said, "It just makes me feel better when I read it, or when I write it." And I think that's been true for many people in this country.

Naomi Shihab Nye speaks a truth that wraps all around Patti Digh.

Patti's post reminds me of my 10 year old niece. She loves sports. She's a great baseball player and a huge Buckeye's fan. She's interested in history and politics. She called me once, "Aunt Blue Girl? Who's your favorite president?" She collects newspapers. A few springs ago, my sister's family took a trip to Washington, DC and when they got back, my niece called me, "Aunt Blue Girl? I got a Washington Post! Will you save a New York Times for me?!"

And she loves to write. Recently, my sister's family was getting ready to go somewhere for the evening. My niece stopped and said, "Hold on a minute! I've got to go write a poem."

Total sweetness. Let that poetry eat you up, little sweet niece of mine!