Don’t ask me why I decided to tag my blog, “Trusting the Wild Voices.” It came, and I trusted. In my head, I heard both “wild voices” and “wild horses.” As spirit animals, horses drive adventure, heroism, authenticity, freedom, passion. It’s the year of the horse in the Chinese zodiac—we are an especially magnificent and driven herd this year.

I know what it’s like not to trust those voices. There is that possibility of being trampled or kicked (my great-uncle died from a kick by a horse). And you never know where wild horses will take you. For years, I kept my creative writing to myself. But there’s no real joy, or honor, in tethered words.

Which brings us to my first reading as a featured poet a few weeks ago, and why it was a big deal. I’ve been a professional writer all of my life. But writing from that…