In my freshman year at Denison University, I had an English professor who required us to memorize one poem. Why? Because everyone should have at least one poem memorized.

I chose When We Two Parted by Lord Byron. Some chose longer or shorter ones.

At the end of the semester, we all gathered in the living room of our professor’s house to recite our memorized poems. The way we read these poems from our memories became very personal because they were no longer on the page, they had become part of us.