One answer, according to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger, is that poetry allows us to transcend the boundaries of literal language so that we can explore corners of human consciousness that we all intuitively recognize but don’t quite know how to put into sentences. It connects us to our core sense of truth. A poet sees exactly what both you and I see, but the poet goes a step further — she packages that insight into an expression that momentarily washes away the clouds in front of our eyes.

¶ 9:27 AM