While few of us may have the cosmic vision of Hildegard, while few of us may be reunited with a sibling after living through a holocaust, we can widen our world by recognizing and embracing our own poetic moments. Buddhists call this practice mindfulness. Staying in and appreciating the beauty of the here and now, and allowing the present to remind us of the greater mysteries of the universe. What scares most people about poetry is abstraction. The most common public misconception is that poetry is written in obscure language about an obscure subject to convey esoteric ideas that will never be grasped by regular people.
Great poetry does the opposite.
Please don't let me leave you with the idea that poetry is just a feel-good exercise that might come in handy in a crisis. Poetry is revolutionary. Poetry is electric. I don't pretend to know the circumstances behind those two women's lives, but historically women, especially rural women, have been denied the educational privileges of men. Historically, women have been discouraged from finding their voices, expressing themselves in the classroom, speaking up anywhere, lest they appear smarter than men.