Connie, I really enjoyed your essay on poetry but I think it is difficult to define what poetry is and what is does. Poetry does seem to create different reactions in different people. For most of my life I never thought I would be “able” to write poetry. It seemed too obscure to me, especially poems that are so self-referential that we have no idea what the poet is talking about, even after several rereadings. However there have always been poems I have found connection with such as the poems of Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Mary Oliver. To me, these poems seem to be powered by emotion rather than by mere intellectualism. They engage me on a personal level, especially when they are relating a feeling of connection with the natural world. I always enjoy your poetry ( and am grateful to have “found” your work on Medium) because I feel so often we both often honor connections in nature with the same reverence and gratitude.