When We Are the Poets


Do you remember the first poem you wrote? It’s been 60 years, give or take, but here’s mine:

So very much sand, such an endless beach.
So many white clouds so high out of reach.
Such a lot of fish, such a monstrous sea,
Such a great big world, such a tiny me.

I remembered this little rhyme today because it continues the past two days’ theme of Earth Month and National Poetry Month, and because that’s how poems work, at least for me: they stick in the mind and walk around in our skin.

Where does poetry fit into your life? Do you remember hearing nursery rhymes as a child, or reading them to your own children? Did you have to memorize a poem to recite in school?  Do you recall any part of it now? Do you remember the first poem that you chose to keep in some way? Are there favorites that creep back into your consciousness now and then? Living where I do, I often “stop by woods on a snowy evening” when we get snow in my neighborhood. Have you a favorite epic poem? If you think that wouldn’t be for you, perhaps Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf would convince you otherwise.

If we let it, poetry has the capacity to reach into the deepest part of our being. Especially in these difficult days, poetry can bring us comfort, reassurance, hope, humor, can spur our imagination, help us find wonder, or simply help us make sense of what’s happening in our world. And it can be a bridge among us. It doesn’t matter whether the poetry is high art or a simple rhyme, like the little one I wrote so long ago.

Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme. Here’s one of my old favorites, Carl Sandburg’sFog:

 The fog comes on little cat feet.
 It sits looking over harbor and city
 on silent haunches and then moves on.

What word pictures have come to you lately? Are you a poet in waiting? Just as poetry can reach into us, writing our own poetry is one way that we can tap into our own depths to learn what is happening inside us. In these days of physical distancing, writing can be a healing activity. And sharing them can help bring us closer together in spirit. What would it take for you to give it a try today? Here are some easy ideas to get you started:
  • Write some haiku, the classic Japanese poetry with a 5-7-5 syllable scheme of three unrhyming lines. Here’s a quick example:
 Make origami
 As we connect on laptops
 Old skill meets new world

Want more help? Visit Haiku
  • Write a round robin poem with family or friends. With those in your home, pass around a pad and let each person add a line. Or send a first line by e-mail, and let others add a line and pass it on, building the address group along the way.
  • Write new lyrics for a favorite tune.
  • Choose a poem you like and add your own addenda to it.
  • Let a word or phrase come to you, then hold it close throughout the day. What else comes?
  • Tune in to an image, experience, or something that you hear, taste, smell, or touch. Close your eyes and sit quietly. What words come?
Today doesn’t need to be the day that you write a completed poem. One approach is to simply hold onto words or phrases that come to you — jot them down, for example — and then wait to see what unfolds over time. Powerful poems may take a long time to be revealed.

We might not be gifted poets, but we can let the poetry inside us be our gift. Perhaps turning in that direction will bring us closer to the Earth, closer to our true self, and closer to each other.

Until tomorrow, I wish you good health and a peaceful day.

Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma

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