This Human Life

Poem Inspired By Poet Maggie Smith 🌿 + Poetry Book Club Invite

-unknown illustrator

This Human Life

is a makeshift home—am I truly at home
here? I'm easily restless. Is this what I’ve 

bargained for since there has to be more.
And what I mean by more: I know there’s

a version of my life that keeps me upright 
on my feet, turning over the mundane 

in favor of knowing what I’m made of. Some
might look at me and see a plain woman

constrained by three-dimensional space. In
a certain sense they're not lying. But when 

I peer into my life, I don’t see plainness staring
back at me. I see a woman with tiger eyes,

shades of hazel as the palms of a jungle. I see 
a woman who won't shrink back. Watch me 

pace in suspense while spectators look on. 
Watch me tear down the steel walls of society. 

I’m already living ferociously.


~Kassi Wilson

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Behind the Poem

The title—This Human Life—is from a poem in Maggie Smith’s latest poetry collection. I borrowed the title as a prompt, it sparked the start of my poem, and the lines that followed came rather seamlessly.

The question posed in the first stanza set off a train-of-thought that created my poem’s initial draft. Right away I noticed a distinction between the woman that society sees compared to the way in which she sees herself.

My poem is written in first person and I’m the speaker of the poem. The use of “I” is intentional. I chose to write in first person because it sounds confessional, intimate, and approachable.

The poem reaches a powerful climax as the speaker peers deeper and sees tiger eyes—the colors of the jungle reflect from her eyes. The metaphor paints a word picture. Wildness is implied without it explicitly being stated.

A gentle transformation unfolds as the speaker throws off a false perception while simultaneously reclaims her hidden strength. The woman in this poem is anything but plain and yet her wild nature is misunderstood or submerged.

A deeper look into her life reveals her wild nature that is realized by the speaker of the poem. While the first stanza begins with a question paired with a feeling of restlessness, the poem finishes with strength and self-awareness shown in the last four stanzas.

If you’re interested in reading the poem that inspired my poem, you can check it out here Month of May Poetry Book also in this post is a writing prompt and insight into May’s poetry book: A Suit or A Suitcase!

The Poetry Book Club 📚

Meets This Thursday Night, May 21st at 8pm (EST)

If you've been wanting to jump in and be apart of The Poetry Book Club. . . . it’s a good time! We’re a friendly, creative community reading poetry books together. Perks include: curated poetry books, monthly writing prompts inspired by the books we're reading, seasonal open-mic nights, and a one hour Dream Big Session with me to discuss your writing life and aspirations on Substack that will give you clarity, direction, and creative recalibration.