Far Away From Me There Were Poems I Could Not Write Poem by Shalom Freedman

Far away from me there were poems I could not write
They belonged to other selves- other souls
I knew the world was greater because of them
But I could not write them
I could barely grasp them
And let them play in my mind as a kind of inspiration
I needed them so
I needed some other longing
Beside my own
Some hearing from a distance
That would somehow enter me
And in their own way
Give me a new voice –

Poems are written by strangers
Which help me make poems of my own
And all the love I have for them
Becomes transformed in me
In some mysterious way
As my own love song renewed