I find solace in old poets

I find solace in old poets.

Poets who wrote

before these times.

They remind me that-

nothing worth feeling

hasn’t been felt before

everything worth feeling

is worthy of expression

I am not new-

still, I am

I have not changed

unrecognisably-

even a world

in upheaval

does not change

its upheaving

all that much

They remind me that-

this world is human

because we

preserved

and distilled

experience

in small

airtight

jars

of words

spaces

and colour

all beautiful things

are poetry

because

poetry

is

what makes the mind

stir and

shimmer

like the moon

in water

held by

cupped hands

poetry is not a choice

it is necessity

for creating

for preserving

for being

They remind me that-

we are not alone-

the past

always gives

the present company

the present is

another poem

waiting to

console a future-

"we are here because,

we are here because,

we are here"