Writing enables us to make deep connections

There is a yearning in us — in me, I should say, but I’ll stick with the presumption of “us” — for closeness. A closeness so true we might be able to stave off loneliness, if not permanently, for long enough to forget its concept entirely. We, humans, write poems, make love, play music, hold hands, drink beer, and watch movies. All red herrings from the core desire: To find a semblance of connection. From Plato’s The Symposium to Louise Glück’s “Telescope,” the plurality of writing captures our desire to connect and becomes a vehicle for connection with one another and the larger world. In Plato’s The Symposium, Aristophanes’ tells a tale of the original human’s attempt to overthrow the gods. After their failed attempt, Zeus knows the gods can’t destroy the humans because they need the humans’ “honors and sacrifices.” Yet, he also knows the contempt of the original humans needs to be punished. Aristophanes describes original humans as being of both sexes. Zeus realizing this thinks of no better punishment than splitting them into two: “Now when their nature was divided in two, each half in longing rushed to the other half and they threw their arms around each other and intertwined them, desiring to grow together into one, dying of hunger and inactivity too because they were unwilling to do anything apart […] By Allyson Jeffredo | Contributing Columnist. Allyson Jeffredo is a poet, writer and educator from the Coachella Valley. (Courtesy of Allyson Jeffredo)

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