My wisest friends are letters
with whom I have conferred.
I often like to join them in
small clusters known as words.
And frequently we congregate
to party or to rage
in sentences or paragraphs
assembling on a page.
My dearest friends are letters.
They help transcribe my mind.
It doesn’t matter what I write,
they never are inclined
to call my writing “hazardous
to youth” or “outright lies”
like novels once revered that now
so many stigmatize.
Like a precious vintage watch
worn by someone of wealth
who knows it needs attentive care
—it can’t mark time itself—
my words need winding in your mind
for you to understand
their timeliness and that of all
the books entitled Banned!
Lynn Hess is a retired middle-school teacher who, for thirty years, simultaneously conducted weekly poetry-writing workshops for students in grades K through 8. Her poetry has appeared in literary journals, including The Spoon River Quarterly, Aeolian-Harp, Discretionary Love, The Monterey Poetry Review, The Red Eft Review, The MockingOwl Roost, and others. Where Tigers Roar in Silence, a book of her poetry for children, was published by Lime Rock Press. Although Lynn writes mostly in free verse, she also cherishes the musicality of poems composed with rhyme and meter. As an educator, Lynn is especially saddened to see so many of the thought-provoking novels that evoked class discussion removed from library shelves.