Name: Jessica Morey-Collins
Hometown: Redlands, CA
Current city: Eugene, OR
Occupation: Planning Project Manager
Age: 30
What does poetry mean to you?
To me, poetry is a pedagogical catalyst and tool. Both writing it and reading it allow me to learn about the world around me and its inhabitants--poetry is my favorite way to engage with other perspectives and learn how people interact with their worlds.
Who is your favorite?
Emily Dickinson
Why do you like this poet?
I love that Dickinson does not shy away from any scale of attention—her poems allow themselves the grandeur of existential questions without losing connection to the cogs and leaves and droplets that comprise the sum of experience. As the daffodils assert themselves in my neighborhood, and I make the humbling move from one discipline to another, I think often of this tiny, huge poem of Dickinson's:
(361)
What I can do - I will -
Though it be little as a Daffodil -
That I cannot - must be
Unknown to possibility -
So often it feels like I can't impart the kinds of changes or do the kinds of work that I want to. This poem reminds me not to overlook simpler impacts—preparing meals for loved ones, offering a hug or a few moments of shared time.