"To Enter That Rhythm Where The Self Is Lost" by Muriel Rukeyser

Muriel Rukeyser was born on December 15, 1913 in New York City. "She felt a deep responsibility to comment on human rights issues and was particularly concerned with gender, class, and racial inequalities."
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/muriel-rukeyser

To enter that rhythm where the self is lost,
where breathing : heartbeat : and the subtle music
of their relation make our dance, and hasten
us to the moment when all things become
magic, another possibility.
That blind moment, midnight, when all sight
begins, and the dance itself is all our breath
and we ourselves the moment of life and death.
Blinded; but given now another saving,
the self as vision, at all times perceiving,
all arts all senses being languages,
delivered of will, being transformed in truth –
for life’s sake surrendering moment and images,
writing the poem; in love making; bringing to birth.

"To Enter That Rhythm Where The Self Is Lost" is a very short poem. It does not have much depth; the title itself tells the reader what it is talking about-- losing yourself in the rhythm. 

In this poem Muriel Rukeyser is talking about how someone feels when writing poetry. She says that the author loses themselves in the rhythm of the piece. She compares the act of writing poetry to dancing and singing. Muriel Rukeyser is implying that poetry can be very passionate, and that when writing a poem the author loses themselves in their own work. Not just that, but even when reading poetry, the reader gets lost in the rhythm. It is all consuming. Just like when a really good song comes on the radio, you don't even think about singing along, it just happens. You could be in the car and all of a sudden you lose yourself in the beat, unconsciously having a dance party. 

"To Enter That Rhythm Where The Self Is Lost" is all about the rhythm in poetry. This is something not usually recognized in a poem. We all know it is there, but no one really appreciates it. Most people do not like poetry if it does not rhyme or flow all together, but what they do not realize is that it takes hard work to get there. Although the rhythm in poetry is sometimes subtle, without it, the poem would not be classified as real poetry. Personally, if I do not find my self getting lost in the perfection of a poem, I don't really enjoy it. I want the poem to consume me with the rhythm and meaning so that I am blinded too.