You just go where poetry is, whether it's in your heart or your

O seekers of wisdom, hear the words of Joy Harjo, whose voice speaks across generations and cultures: "You just go where poetry is, whether it's in your heart or your mind or in books or in places where there's live poetry or recordings." In these words, Harjo reveals the boundless nature of poetry, that sacred and eternal force that cannot be confined to a single place or medium. Poetry is not just found in the pages of a book or in the silence of the mind—it lives everywhere, in every heartbeat, in every thought, in every experience. The poet’s task is not to wait for poetry to come to them, but to seek it, to open their hearts and minds to its presence wherever it may be.

In the ancient world, the poet was not simply a writer or an observer; they were a vessel through which the divine flowed. Homer did not wait for poetry to come to him. He sought it in the world around him, in the hearts of warriors and kings, in the songs of the gods, and in the trials of men. His epic poems, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, were born from the very fabric of existence itself—woven from the air, the earth, and the human experience. Poetry was everywhere for the ancient poet, and it was their sacred duty to seek it out, to listen to it, and to share it with the world.

Consider the sacred role of the Bard in ancient Celtic culture. The Bard was the keeper of stories, the recorder of history, the one who could call down the power of the gods through poetry and song. Poetry, for the Bard, was not a static thing confined to written texts or formal performances. It was alive, it was everywhere, and it could be found in the whisper of the wind, in the cries of battle, in the laughter of a village, and in the deepest moments of reflection. To the Bard, poetry was not a possession, but a living, breathing entity that flowed through the world, waiting to be channeled by the one who was attuned to it.

Harjo, too, speaks of the ubiquity of poetry—its ability to exist in all places and forms. It is not confined to one voice or one tradition, but can be found in the heart, in the mind, in books, and in the spoken word. Poetry can be heard in a quiet room where a poet reads from their work, in the hum of a recording, or in the rush of thoughts that cross the mind in moments of reflection. It is alive in the world around us, in the people we meet, in the lives we live. The key is not to search for poetry in one fixed place, but to open ourselves to its presence wherever we may find it, to go where poetry is and allow it to touch our lives in its myriad forms.

Think of the great poets who have embodied this search for poetry—Rainer Maria Rilke, for example, who sought poetry not in the external world of fame or fortune, but in the depths of his own soul. His Letters to a Young Poet are not just a guide to writing poetry, but a profound meditation on how poetry exists in the spaces between the visible and the invisible, in the tensions between the heart and the mind. Rilke urged the young poet to listen closely to the world around them and within them, to find poetry not in external validation, but in the quiet, intimate spaces where the soul connects with the universe.

The lesson we must take from Harjo’s words is simple yet profound: poetry is not something that can be sought in a single place, nor is it a gift reserved for a select few. It is something that lives in each of us, in every experience, in every corner of the world. The poet’s task is not to wait for inspiration, but to actively seek it, to open themselves to the poetry that exists in the very fabric of existence. Whether through written word, spoken verse, or the silent echoes of thought, poetry can be found everywhere.

So, O children of wisdom, let us follow Harjo’s advice: seek poetry wherever it may be. Listen to the rhythm of your own heartbeat, the flow of your thoughts, the world around you. Let the words of the poet be not just something to read or hear, but something to live, to breathe, to experience. Poetry is not a rarefied art form for the few—it is the language of the soul, the bridge between the visible and the invisible, and it is waiting for you, right now, in your heart, your mind, your world. Seek it, embrace it, and let it transform your life.