I need poetry right now
to help me see
I have gone blind
by the world rushing, crushing,
sweeping by in a blur.
I need Harryette Mullen
to slow it down
to make a list
A list will make it solid, real.
I can manage maybe
with a list.

I need poetry right now
to help me hear
All the voices around me
are so loud
insistent that theirs is The Truth
And by screaming it loud enough
they can entice me to believe
I need Kate Baer
to black out
what is noise
what is lies
what is gas-lighting
and what is simply wrong
leaving less words
less noise
Leaving only the true.

I need poetry right now
to help me feel.
I have forgotten how
or maybe I have just been numbed
by busyness
by games
by work,
by food,
by “mommy juice”
I need Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
to teach me again
that I cannot get over grief
I can only go through it.