Poetry must exist.

It is the job of the writer, Creator, to carve the space for it, and for the reader, Witness, to preserve that space.

Poetry must continue.

We in this world need to know that there is beauty that exists for free. There are some things of worth that are valuable not for what they cost, but for what they are.

Poetry is one of these.

Poetry and Earth.

Poetry and Earth and Love.

But why are the most sacred things, the purest and most free things, so vulnerable?

We must preserve what cannot be owned.

We must fiercely protect a poem, a river, a lover's right to love.

For the sake of our hearts, this must be our guiding principle:

Poetry over professionalism. Rivers over oil. Love over politics.

Poetry must continue.

Our souls beg of us, daily, to prove all the ways we hold love more sacred than money.