I dreamed a few nights ago that I was standing next to a famous writer. I can’t remember who the writer was; but in any case, I took her hand and said, “I have to tell you the truth. A single sentence of yours saved my life.”
I remembered that dream this morning as I was looking for a poem by Ellen Bass in my copy of the 2018 Pushcart Prize.
I wanted to read these lines, in particular, out loud to a friend:

“You may have to break
your heart, but it isn’t nothing
to know even one moment alive.”

These words of mine are a thank you for that (nameless but famous) writer in my dream, they are a thank you for every writer who reminds me of the beauty of being alive, and the power of words to comfort and illuminate.

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