First of all, I have to be honest: I have never written a good short poem. I won’t say I “can’t,” because you never know, but the skill it takes to say something vital and important in just a few words may well be out of my range. For some reason I do remember a short poem I wrote in graduate school called “The King of Slugs,” but believe me, I am the only one who ever liked it.

However, there are very short poems that lodge in my memory because they strike deep into my always-broken heart, making me feel connected to the poet, making me see the world anew. 

This one only came to my attention recently, through social media. Yes, the discovery of new favourite poems is one reason I stay on social media!

Note that the line breaks in this 7-line poem do a lot of work: “You being” lets us linger on what our own being might mean before “inside” puts us in that ambulance, helping explain the way in which an ambulance is safe, then “means” prepares us for the punch of “you’re already hurt.” We slow down while reading this short poem, but still crash headlong into the explanation of this metaphor that feels absolutely accurate and makes the poet a seer. Yes, you understand that I am hurt, and that a poem can be a place of safety for me, Ms. Correa. How did you know?

Read the rest–click here!