It is difficult/ to get the news from poems/ yet men die miserably every day/ for lack/ of what is found there. William Carlos Williams. (tip to Peter Case)

I try to read a poem each day.  Mr. Keillor can be of assistance here.  For me, sadly, it's often more of a professional stance, like a daily rhythm vitamin. If I can't keep my hand in, I've got to keep my ear to the ground at least, so to speak.  What is the good doctor talking about above?  I think the key word is miserably.  Men die every day.  You don't have to be a doctor or a poet to know that.  Is poetry a hand into the unknown?  It certainly is that.  Ha! But, is it that in such a practical sense as a narcotic might be?  Do those who don't read poetry die more miserably than those who do?  I am avoiding the implication that poetry could have a broader effect, i.e., make the world a better place, so that some of the miserable deaths that we inflict on each other might be reduced, although I'm not sure why I should skirt this issue.  I would say that every poem is political, of course.  Making poetry in the current climate is an act of resistance, for sure.  But, does that make poets freedom fighters?  Ha again!  It is anti-materialist (and, therefore, presumably, anti-capitalist).  I think the greatest error of our age is the assumption that the only thing that motivates people is greed.  Poetry proves that fallacy. Ha again and again! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.