Melanie Goodreaux’s poetry workshop reacquainted me with poetry. I have always been a fan of reading poetry but never wrote much myself. I found that every time I tried to compose an original piece, it would not sound the way I hoped it would. During Goodreaux’s workshop however, I realized you could always just take ideas from other poets. Each time she asked us to write in the same logical progression, I found it easier and easier to write a decent piece of poetry. I especially liked writing in the style of “I remember.” I was very impressed by its simplicity. There were no hidden meanings and one did not have to read too much into the poet’s words. I also realized how many things I remembered that do not seem to be of consequence yet still hold some part of my conscious brain. The fact that I thought about people and places and experiences that I had not thought of in years was amazing. It made me miss so many places and people and my home country and without poetry and this workshop I would have not likely thought about for years to come.

I also really liked reading “Wild Geese.” When I first read it out of class, I liked its flow but did not completely understand its deeper meaning. When we read it in class, and read it DRAMATICALLY out loud, I could decipher the meaning of the poem a lot more than I did when I read it in my head at home the night before. The poem was a very different way of expressing our part of the human experience and I really liked how every person in our class came up with different “Meanwhiles.” It really highlighted different facets of different people’s lives and made me feel closer to class as a whole.

I also got to hear poetry from people I had not heard from before. I remember one person writing about how their significant other stole their shirt and I remember thinking how sweet that that was what they thought of. I remember feeling very warm and fuzzy because I thought of someone I used to steal hoodies and shirts from and that nostalgia of the “good old days” was very welcome and I remember calling that person and catching up after probably months of not talking.

Besides just recounting a poet’s experience, a poem can also resonate with a large audience. For example, one of my favorite poems from Rupi Kaur (pictured below) describes the permanence she embodies:

“did you think I was a city

big enough for a weekend getaway

i am the town surrounding it

the one you’ve never heard of

but always pass through

there are no neon lights here

no skyscrapers or statues

but there is thunder

for i make bridges tremble

i am not street meat i am homemade jam

thick enough to cut the sweetest

thing your lips will touch

i am not police sirens

i am the crackle of a fireplace

i’d burn you and you still

couldn’t take your eyes off me

cause i’d look so beautiful doing it

you’d blush

i am not a hotel room i am home

i am not the whiskey you want

i am the water you need

don’t come here with expectations

and try to make a vacation out of me.”