"You'll awake with holes in your forehead"
Vilariño, Wilkinson, Clampitt, Powell, Popa, Kunitz
Idea Vilariño (tr. from Spanish by Jesse Lee Kercheval):
Crystal Wilkinson:
Amy Clampitt:
D.A. Powell:
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Vasko Popa (tr. from Serbian by Charles Simic):
Stanley Kunitz:
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Kunitz’s reply is a gem.
In kindness studies, kindness received, given, or observed has the same neurological effect. Kindness is contagious/makes us feel good. There is so much to human potential & how we wish to be in the world with our actions.
The power of what we witness, and what others witness of us, is crucial to recognize. While we are changed in witnessing, bearing witness for another cultivates meaning-making for the other person. Wonderful theme for poetry.
My response here is from a secular perspective. & while we have multiple functions of poetry existing at once, one of Dante’s ideas of poetry’s function is to cultivate virtue.