The poetic dynamic is a solitary one. The poet composes within his or her mind and heart, and then writes that composition as a singular artist. The reader consumes this art no differently than if he or she was tucking in to a meal. The reader’s response is a solo act, as well.

There’s a lot of lonely to being a poet, which some of us like about the process. But there comes a time when writing down our thoughts and impressions just for ourselves is like shouting into a cacophonous gale in the dark. Putting them on a blog merely turns that stygian storm into a face full of whizzing zeros and ones. So maybe we submit our creations to publications, hopefully to share with discerning readers. Or we submit hopefully, at least. As we all know, seeing our poems published is a dicey proposition in the subjective world of literary journals. Who knows, maybe the poetry had a lousy lunch or their dog snored all night.

So where does a poet–whether new or experienced–go to share his or her work with readers who might appreciate this work, this creative life? Claudia answered that question for me back in March, when she introduced me to a bunch of fine folks, some of whose names and faces you’ll see around the pub tonight. Like that good-looking, not-quite-new guy passing out the pretzels and shooting the bull, Chris Galford.

It’s through the reading of and support from your peers here at dVerse that you can assess your work, get the kick in the pants you need to start your writing, or get that little boost you need to keep doing it. That’s what you’ve done for me—turned a maybe poet into a poet and now a poet who hopes to help and encourage others. I think Natasha would call that paying it forward.

After all, it’s lonely out in the wilderness of the Web. Sometimes it’s nice to have some kindred folk to rally round us here in the dark.

And so, let’s turn the lights up a bit, because it’s night over on the other side of the Prime Meridian. Also so you can read better and see what the heck you’re drinking tonight. You think it’s easy pouring for you in the dark?

Okay, what’ll you have? Here’s our drink menu:

• Post a poem to your blog,
• Link your poem to dVerse (1 per blog, please) by clicking on the Mr.Linky button below.
• This opens a new screen where you’ll enter your information, and where you also choose links to read. Once you have pasted your poem’s blog url and entered your name, click Submit.
• Don’t forget to let your readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post. (Something I too often forget to do, so this is a string on the finger for me, too. And, yes, I’m old enough to have seen people tie strings around their fingers. Sheesh!)
• Visit as many other poems as you like, commenting as you see fit.
• Spread the word on the poems you enjoy if you’d like. Feel free to tweet and share on the social media of your choice.
• Keep at being part of this community.