Poetic Inquiry: We’re in Good Hands

By Camea Davis

The poem We’re in Good Hands one poem in a five-part series of conclusions of a poetic analysis of Season 2 of Why Change? A Podcast for a Creative GenerationSeason 2 of the Why Change? podcast. 

We’re in Good Hands synthesizes guests' responses to the question, “what motivates you?” Each person responded individually by describing who or what motivates them.

This poem responds to a repetitiously evident notion in the data that respondents felt motivated by being connected to or working with other people. Each line repeats the word together to echo how many responses spoke about human relationships and community contexts when they discussed their personal motivations. The creative thinkers and doers invited to be guests on Why Change? repeately identified serving, helping, collaborating, teaching, and meeting with other people as sources of motivation. This move has a movement from the word Together closed with an endstop followed by a description of how respondents described being together. The movement in the poem is a shift from being together to doing something together. 

For this group, motivation was connected to actions taken in service of others. The title of the poem We’re in Good Hands, is a direct quote from one respondent that noted that they are motivated by the work of youth and knowing even though humanity is faced with incredible challenges the youth that will carry us forward are “good hands.” The image of human hands, good human hands, illuminates both the action of doing something tangible and a way people can connect in person with hands outstretched and actively engaging one another. This idea of “good hands” is also a specifically human characteristic that points back to being in community with other people. 

Read the text of “We’re in Good Hands” below. Then watch the spoken word version of the poem. 

If you are interested in how poetic inquiry research analysis is conducted, learn more here. 

We’re in Good Hands

Together.  Teaching students how to step over potholes 
Together.  A whole community where emerging artists and students feel they belong 
Together.  Meeting people. Making Connections. Inventing and learning and growing. 
Together.  Share, Share, Share. Letting folks know they got the funding to do the work. 
Together.  Collaborations with other people. Serve the community. In good company. 
Together.  Responsibility to not lose hope. To share and not to hoard. 
Together.  We’re never done. The work is ever evolving.