Mary Mackey, a writer-pal of mine from a Bay Area group we both belong to, sent a note through the group about a poem of hers Garrison Keillor was going to read on his show yesterday, “The Kama Sutra of Kindness: Position Number 3.” 
I always feel self-conscious when I do this – send little missives out to friends about my writing – feeling if it’s any good it ought to be found by all the readers who would like to know of it without the need for me to mention it myself. But Mary’s note and poem reminded me that the writing we do is a way of sharing ourselves with the world, and that the very best of work isn’t always heard by those who would love to hear it. “The Kama Sutra of Kindness: Position Number 3” is one of the most beautiful poems I have read in a long time – and I read a lot of poetry. Yet given my busy day I would have missed it had Mary not sent out her note. I’ve read her wonderful historical fiction, but somehow never even quite gotten to her poetry.
I sent the link to Mary’s poem to my husband, because it’s about long-lasting love; I had just read a post by him that left me feeling the strength of his long love for me (in the context of our temporarily off-the-radar-scope college freshman son). I wish I had know of the poem in time to give Mac the volume it’s in, Breaking the Fever, for Valentine’s Day. I wished I’d known of it this summer, when I was choosing a poem to read for my niece’s wedding. But I will be looking for it today. – Meg
