Words are enchantments and dominions. Even numb, blowaway verbiage knits us more tightly into the weave of our experience. Words give formidable, unyielding shape to certain pieces of our life. Poets aspire to create such shapes. The sounds of poetry enact emotional and intellectual ardor that can recapitulate shockingly raw, fresh states of feeling long after the occasioning event. Words are abundances and afflictions—they give to us and take from us, they’re pleasure-givers and pain-bearers. They sing back at us not just knowledge of a singular moment but of an entire historic surround.
— W.S. di Piero, Threepenny Review, Spring 2017
