Why do we read these words?
To discover, to unlock, to free, to remind,
to heal, to summon, to call out, to criticize,
to hope, to know, to connect, to forgive,
to become, to let go, to refocus, to grow,
to illuminate, to ponder, to question, to learn.
Why do we read these words?
So that we might do the difficult work of becoming more fully human
So that we might be more compassionate with ourselves and with others
So that we might rid our hearts of the smallness that somehow weighs us down like a stone
So that we might laugh, cry, think, and feel more deeply
Why do we read these words?
Because, though we didn’t write them, they are ours.