“Thoughts” strikes me as a perfect poem to consider around the end of one year or the beginning of another as we take stock of what has come to pass, and make plans and resolutions for the future.

In “America, I Sing You Back,” to frame America as a child who makes mistakes “as any child might do” is ultimately to offer the possibility of redemption and restoration.

Poetry Sunday’s first feature this month, “Paul Robeson” by Gwendolyn Brooks, celebrated a political voice that was both “adult” and “large,” and today’s poem about the collective voice of Black Americans speaks out powerfully in both registers.

Today’s poems continue the Poetry Sunday special series which, through November, will feature poems by women about voting, and about our country. They emphasize the urgency and potency of the vote, reminding us of the difficult paths many have walked to secure our representation.

In these divided times I am grateful for poems like this to remind us of good things we may have taken for granted before—like just “getting” to sit in an uncomfortable folding chair in a school auditorium—and of the experiences many of us have in common.

Sometimes we rely on poetry as a sort of goad—to bear witness, expose evil or hypocrisy in others, or expose ourselves to ourselves.