<p>"I don't understand poetry. That's why I don't read it."</p> <p>As a religious sister who is also a poet, I hear this from many people. And to be honest, sometimes I don't understand poetry either. Sometimes I don't even understand my own poetry. That is, until a year later I happen to find a poem in my slush pile, and I say to myself, "Wow, I wrote that?"</p>