The last photo Trisha Fountain took with her mother in May, 2006. Fountain's mom died the week after her graduation. She said the poem"Epitaph" has helped offered her comfort.The last photo Trisha Fountain took with her mother in May, 2006. Fountain's mom died the week after her graduation. She said the poem"Epitaph" has helped offered her comfort.Last month, we asked NPR readers what poetry means to them.
Six months later, Fountain spent her first birthday without her mother at the funeral of her friend's mother, who died of the same cancer. She heard Merrit Malloy's"Epitaph" read at this funeral. Now 40 years old, Fountain still remembers the poem."This poem allowed me to feel seen, held, directed and connected to my mom in a way that my grief didn't allow me to process before that moment," she said.
For many readers, poetry has been a transformative force in their lives as they battle various mental health struggles. Evan Wang of King of Prussia, Pa., said poetry helped both him and his community blossom. Once a self-described"timid student," Wang now performs his poetry as a Youth Poet Laureate."Poetry found me — a first-generation American living in the quiet suburbs — in this vastness, took my hand, and helped me find myself. He shares his poem,"Muse for Night."Hayley Kelsey of Florida calls poetry the highest literary art.