Envoi by Mary Oliver

No poet ever wrote a poem to dishonor life, to compromise high ideals, to scorn religious views, to demean hope or gratitude, to argue against tenderness, to place rancor in front of love, or to praise littleness of soul. Not one. Not ever. On the contrary, poets have, in freedom and in prison, in health and in misery, with listeners and without listeners, spent their lives examining and glorifying life, meditation, thoughtfulness, devotion, and human love. They have done this wildly, serenely, rhetorically, lyrically, without hope of answer or reward. They have done this grudgingly, willingly, patiently, and in the steams of impatience. They have done it for all and any of the gods, of life, and the record of them doing so belongs to each one of us. Including you.   Oliver, Mary. (1998) Rules for the dance: A handbook for writing and reading metrical verse. Houghton Mifflin Company: New York. p. 104-5