Gregory Orr grew up in the Hudson Valley, where traumatic childhood incidents forged writing as an act of survival. The author of numerous poetry collections, including The Last Love Poem I Will Ever Write, he is a master of short, lyric free verse. He wrote the memoir The Blessing and three books of essays, including Poetry as Survival. A professor of English at the University of Virginia since 1975, Orr lives in Charlottesville with his wife and daughters.

Photograph by Trisha Orr.

If to Say It Once

by Gregory Orr

If to say it once

And once only, then still
To say: Yes.


And say it complete,
Say it as if the word
Filled the whole moment
With its absolute saying.
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