Aging and Detachment

There's something deeply moving about getting older. One thing I've noticed lately is that it takes less and less to make me want to cry. My very dear friend's poetry always makes me want to cry.

He says that every time he finishes a poem, he doesn't expect to ever write another. Yet, he always has the knowing that he is a poet, whether or not another poem ever comes. To me, this way of honoring the work while releasing it is akin to appreciating a moment fully instead of quickly seeking, then moving to the next.

My friend says, "Whether or not I am a poet again anew, I will always be a poet."

One is not a poet because one has written a poem, in the same way that one is not an artist because one's art hangs in a gallery.