Ellen Bass is an American poet, writer, and teacher whose work is concerned with the complexity of life: relationships, conflict, the body, sexuality, and food. Bass's poem "The Thing Is," published in her 2002 collection Mules of Love, instructs readers to love life even amidst the difficult heaviness of grief.
In the poem, the speaker states that "the thing is" to love life even when difficult times make you feel ill. During these times, it feels like everything important has fallen apart. Grief makes your throat and stomach close up, and it causes the air to be difficult to breathe. The immense weight of grief is hard to withstand, but the speaker instructs readers to continue loving life regardless.
Mules of Love was well-received, garnering generous notices and winning a Lambda Literary Award in 2002. "The Thing Is" was also anthologized in the 2017 Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems published by Grayson Books. This demonstrates Bass's attention to detail and her ability to use her poetry in order to help readers live fuller and deeper lives.
