Poetry Overlap with Self-Help Genre
Finding Therapy in Poetry (and Instapoetry)
What is poetry? Some stuffy, boring old form of expression that lines bird cages and mildews in musty attics in crumbling old tomes?
Nay, nevermore!
Poetry is a vibrant, living, expansive outlet for pouring yourself onto the page.
Yes, there are academic poets who know all the specifics of proper form, meter, rhyme, history, and structure. My friend, Lee Herrick, California’s Poet Laureate1, is an amazing academic poet and professor from whom you can take classes toward your AA2 and your MFA3.
There are rules, by cricket!
But an everyday poet pouring heart, soul, anguish, and elation onto the page or digital screen need not be an academic poet.
Poetry is breathing.
Poetry is seeing.
Poetry is hearing.
Poetry is seething.
Poetry is freeing.
Poetry is searing.
When you feel locked inside yourself, poetry opens the door and lets in the light.
When you need a way to cry out but don’t feel safe or able to share in conversation, poetry opens the floodgate.
When your heart swells at the sun glinting through morning dew on an ancient cobwebbed fencepost, poetry opens the way for that brief silvery shimmer of a moment in time to be preserved.
When you feel worn out and flattened as an old bike tire, poetry opens the air valve to fill you back up.
Whether in a tangible, analog private journal or online in your digital sharing space, poetry is transformative and therapeutic.
Shel Silverstein was a funny poet and lyricist4. Where the Sidewalk Ends is one of his best-known and loved books of poetry. Anne Scott wrote funny poetry5. Donna Ashworth is an uplifting rising poet6. Morgan Harper Nichols, is a successful rising author, MFA student, and Instapoet. In addition to her books, Storyteller app, and website, she shares beautiful everyday poetry and uplifting thoughts on Instagram (@morganharpernichols).7 William Wordsworth and Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote beautiful poetry now celebrated in the Classics.8 Searching the poets, old and new, can help you find the ones you need for you, for now.
Poetry crosses and obliterates ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic barriers. There is a poet for every taste, and there are poems for every occasion. Poetry can help us understand each other and reach across divides. It can also help cement the bonds of people who have shared experiences within the same ethnic/cultural/racial/economic groups.
Writing poetry is invigorating.
Reading the invigorated poetry of others is elevating.
Poetry is enriching.
Reading and writing poetry is a powerful way to engage in self-help, mindfulness, and centering.
We are, after all, made of stardust reaching for home.
Prompt: Take 10 minutes and write a poem. Your topic might be How Poetry Unlocks My Soul, or grab your backpack and choose another trail if that one doesn’t grab you. Don’t overthink. Don’t edit. Just write. Come share what you came up with. You can share here in the comments, or you can share in my FB group, Writer’s Road.
California Poet Laureate, Lee Herrick, https://arts.ca.gov/press-release/governor-newsom-appoints-lee-herrick-as-california-poet-laureate/
Fresno City College, Humanities Division, https://www.fresnocitycollege.edu/directory/humanities/herrick-lee.html
Low-residency MFA program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe, https://www.unr.edu/liberal-arts/mfa-creative-writing/poetry
Shel Silverstein, https://www.shelsilverstein.com/about-shel/
Missing, by Anne Scott, https://pickmeuppoetry.org/missing-by-anne-scott/
Joy Chose You, by Donna Ashworth, https://donnaashworth.com/joy-chose-you/
Morgan Harper Nichols, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/morganharpernichols/
Thanks for the prompt to write poetry. I have written a few poems and want to explore poetry more.
Here is my poem from your prompt 😅
I wake up dreary headed
Headed towards the kitchen
Kitchen, the place make my coffee
Coffee that makes me come alive
Alive to write and draw
Draw upon the energy within
Within the bean is the goodness
Goodness that stirs my soul
Soul searching in my morning pages
Pages of writing to understand myself
Myself I face with each word and each sip
Sip the coffee and feel the warmth
Warmth of this moment in which I am alive
Alive to feel this wonderful ever present
Present to take another sip of the delicious coffee
Coffee which is warm and comforting
Comforting myself with words and understanding
Understanding the direction I want to take in my day and my life
Life each morning begins with a sip of my first cup of coffee
Coffe that makes me come alive