till human voices wake us

been thinking abt this a lot. A poetry professor once told me every poet has a particular emotion from which they write. It’s not what they write about, but what emerges from the writing. For instance, louise gluck posits that Richard Siken’s central emotion is panic. Even though the word is never spoken to or about, the poems are saturated with it. I think Mary Oliver can be characterized by relief. Anyway, i think having that recognizeable Emotion is a major mark of poetic voice & it’s development

you want a shrine to your name,          a tether-prayer for sentience.           you want your name coating mouths like blood           & you’d pour it down throats if you could. you hope to leave a mark, even if it’s a brand on the earth. you craved palpability, a hand at your neck;           some proof you’re still here,           even if it’s your hand melting into the stovetop.           you hunger for worship; someone to burn, a sacrifice           on your altar. some crimson to paint yourself mortal           after deification. some skin to wear that isn’t yours. you want your neck draped          on your guilt-crafted guillotine.           something to die for, something to cry for, you           clutch onto any & every in hopes for something. you want because you are,          you want because you suffer. - starvation in passing (aavillainess)