I Am Offering This Poem

“Poem by Poem” by Juan Felipe Herrera (2015)

Contemporary American poet Juan Felipe Herrera has served as poet laureate for both California and the United States. Like “I Am Offering This Poem,” Herrera’s "Poem by Poem" features direct address and meditates on poetry’s power. “Poem by Poem” urges readers to fight injustice through speaking against it. He dedicates the poem to each of the nine people killed in the 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

“Sonnet XVII” by Pablo Neruda

Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) is one of the most famous South American writers. He was renowned for his love sonnets, one of which is the well-known “Sonnet XVII.” Like Baca’s poem, Neruda’s speaker focuses on the mysterious yet precious nature of his love.

“Here It Is” by Mohja Kahf (2020)

Contemporary Syrian American poet Mohja Kahf included this poem in her 2020 collection My Lover Feeds Me Grapefruit. This poem resounds with the refrain that is also its title. The speaker marvels at the love in her life, so powerful that it distorts her sense of time and decay.