It's not the simplest question-- the reasons differ, depending on the poem and my own moods. However, I did feel a strong resonance with one of the guest's ideas about connecting with other people (glimpsing their souls, as I believe she elegantly put it) through reading poems.
Of course, you can't assume the poem's persona is the poet's persona, but I still very much identify with the idea of a poem having a sort of soul of its own, which may or not be entirely revealed by the poem itself. So, here's my take on that idea-- looking more closely at why I read poems, which in itself, is sort of an act of "looking closer!"
Why Read Poems?
for that which is clawing at the edges,
for the muffled scuffling under the lines,
for the furtive whisper rustling beneath,
never sure if it is the echo of your own breath,
never sure if it is the echo of your own breath,
or the tender, raw sound of another,
warm in your ear.
for the quick fire, the immediate flash,
through a windowpane smeared with ink--
you draw back from the closeness,
just for a moment,
to recollect.
do you hear that music?
i hear it, too.
-sjc
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