“Here’s to the unseen, the rooted,
that unopened envelope yet to discover.”

– from “Earth” by Twyla M. Hansen, Nebraska State Poet

The Nebraska State Poet, Twyla Hansen, posted an encouragement on Facebook for people to pause and chat awhile with me during my travels through conversation. I gratefully noted that support, but then came across this observation in her post: “Folks, this is the stuff of poetry!” In some sense, I have resisted the description of the project as poetic, perhaps because poetry is rarely perceived as a compelling spur to interest and curiosity. Yet I felt a surge of warmth when I read Hansen’s exuberant recognition. a couple of 830 mile long conversations hardly compares to, say, Homer’s Odyssey, but at a personal level for me and the Nebraskans that become a part of this adventure, I hope we imbue it with something of the romantic, pure and profound essence that we find in Hansen’s poetry.