Poetry doesn’t do well here on Substack, for whatever reason, but I’m still writing it. In creating shorter form, I’ve found it helps my natural flow and rhythm in longer form. I think of it as a basic building blocks of style, and I know I’m on the right track because the people whose prose I admire are also poets.

I was speaking with a friend of mine recently about how movement is a natural time for both of us to spin lines. For me, that’s usually on my bike, and I’ll repeat the lines in my hea...