The Poet's Workshop: Deconstructing "Bittersweet Memories"

An exclusive new poem for our Inner Sanctum, and a deep dive into the three craft techniques that bring its atmosphere to life.

Welcome to The Poet's Workshop. This is our private space to go a level deeper into the craft, and today I want to share a new poem and deconstruct the specific architectural choices that went into building it.

The poem, "Bittersweet Memories," is an attempt to capture a feeling that is notoriously difficult to write about…. that hazy, melancholic nostalgia for a moment that is gone but still felt. The challenge is to evoke this feeling in the reader without ever saying "I feel nostalgic" or "I feel sad."

First, let's experience the poem itself.

Listen: An Audio Reading of "Bittersweet Memories"

As a special addition, you can listen to an audio performance of the poem below, which I recorded for you.