Feeling blue? Aches and pains got the better of you? Pick up a pen or chapbook – poetry has your back!
It’s been a stormy time up at the Sky House. Once again, poetry has saved my life (the love and care of family and a strained but persevering public health system were also essential ingredients)! I’ve been thinking about all the ways writing and consuming poetry can support wellness. Here is my top 10 list…
- Reading poetry can teach you to listen closely and hear subtleties of expression. Reading can teach you to write with more intuition and intent.
- Writing poetry is a way of feeling truely heard. No one knows me like my poetry journals! Writing makes you a more perceptive reader.
- Poetry is a way of connecting with nature, the past, people different from you, people with shared experiences.
- Meaning in poetry is conveyed in a plurality of form, image, metaphor, sound. This can be cathartic, allowing you to vent, unload and express ideas and feelings that are difficult to articulate.
- Observe how you respond to pieces of writing and poetry can help you build self-awareness.
- Poetry can increase your vocabulary. I love it when I need a dictionary or thesaurus to help me! This enhances your understanding or articulation of whatever is important to you.
- Poetry with its unexpected syntax might enhance or preserve your mental flexibility. Like crosswords or sodoku – but way more entertaining!
- Poetry requires mindful (fully concentrated) reading and helps you let go of everything but this moment right now.
- Poetry is the native language of history, challenge, deconstruction, emotion, beauty and invention.
- They say in the ancient times after battle, the victorious spared the poets so they would tell the tale of their glory. So, in an apocalyptic war, poetry might literally save your life!
WARNING Any effective treatment has side effects. Treating a busy lifestyle with poetry may result in an overuse syndrome. Symptoms may include: Compulsive consumption i.e. it is difficult to stop reading /writing, blurry vision, thinking in a “poetic voice”, rhyming your grocery list, paper cuts. If you are experiencing these, Sky House recommends a nice cup of tea and a nap. Consult a librarian if symptoms persist.
Take care everyone,
Lee x
Sky House Poetry 