The attached thesis is an autobiographical essay of my experience in the Master of Fine Arts Program in Poetry, relating my growth as a writer and the journey I undertook to feel worthy of the title, "Poet." The poetry in the appendix is arranged in two parts introduced with a line from my poem, "On Burying Herons." The first part, wings pumping, are poems from daily life exploring love and motherhood. The second part, wings stilled, explores death and endings. Both reflect on family relationships and my relationship to a larger, cosmic whole. While the topics that I chose to write about are vast, they all emerged from the same taproot of longing that set me out on this journey in the first place.