Bearing Witness

As a poet, I am often surprised by what appears on the page or screen as if I am the mouthpiece for something greater and grander than myself. A poem speaks to something deeper than I know and often prepares me for or bears me through life in a way I could never have imagined when I penned the words on the page. Poetry has the uncanny ability to go beyond the mere transmission of words or ideas. Poetry conveys experience. A good poem speaks to the heart and soul and allows the reader or listener to enter into a kinship with life. For me, poetry is a way of Bearing Witness to the world and to life, a way of transforming experience into wisdom. The hallmark of humanity is our ability to learn and to codify our learning in language and pass it on to future generations. We even call ourselves "homo sapiens," or the "wise ones," as our distinction from the rest of life on the planet. So, Isn't it time we began to live up to the name we so brashly give ourselves? Our greatest gift may be our capacity to learn. But it is put to best use when we go beyond learning and begin to transform our experience into wisdom. Wisdom widens our circle, includes us in a broader context with life, and incorporates our heart and soul as well as our minds and bodies. If we take the time to bear witness to the world and to our lives, we ultimately learn the same life force flows through us that animates all living creatures. Call this force of life what you may, but it is clear we are part of a grand experiment on the planet. This collection of poems offers my own attempts at Bearing Witness, my own attempts to transform my experience into wisdom. It also serves as an invitation for you to do the same, in your own way, whether it be through poetry, painting, dancing, parenting, leadership or simply an expanded and more heart-based presence in life.