My poems always have an entry point. Sometimes it’s an experience, other times, an image. In Word Embrace , I stepped inside its lines by playing with juxtaposition. I did not know where the poem would lead; I never do. But I found a doorway by placing words next to each other in an unexpected way: sighing-light of moon , ruffle-flight of dreams . I used a hyphen to partner them, like hands joined in dance.

The poetry trail opened from there. I began thinking about life’s polarities: night and day, rest and work, questions and answers, friends and enemies. We have an endless amount of opposing ideas to juggle. But where do the blacks and whites blur into grays? Why or when does this occur?

I immediately thought of our communities’ wildfires, and how the pain that is customarily private–suffering, fear, bereavement–has become collective. These past weeks, I have prayed for people I know and do not know; it hardly matters. Lives are shared just as poetry is shared. The heart is never still, for it cannot help but feel both pain and love. Such is the fire of life.