Why I Read Poetry To Help Me Feel Calm
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
One of the things the pandemic has given me is a desire to read more poetry. When life was feeling uncertain and scary, I was able to find a calmness in just a few lines of poetry which was not always available in other places.
For many poetry might feel scary or out of reach, I certainly think I felt like this at one time. I suspect I thought poetry to be too clever or beyond my understanding. I know I must have studied poetry at school but I remember little more than William Wordsworth’s ‘I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud”. I don’t really know where these reservations came from, but thankfully, I now understand, poetry is for everyone.
Like most things, its about find the bits, or in this case, the poets or poetry which bring you joy.
Poetry and Mental Health
It has been proven that just a few minutes of reading slows the heart rate and eases muscle tension, leading to a more relaxed state of mind.
When feeling fragile and concentration is a monumental effort, as it can be in periods of uncertainty, reading poetry can be easier than a novel. It’s far shorter and can be approached in tiny chunks. A single verse may be all that is manageable and yet this alone could be enough to soothe a troubled mind.
I don’t have the best memory, so learning poetry isn’t my forte, although I wish it was! When things are especially tricky and hanging on by a thread seems the best you can do, the ability to bring to mind familiar lines of a poem or verse is known to be immensely calming and even healing.
The ebb and flow of a short burst of words, or even a single stanza, and the rhythm of language has the power to soothe and calm.
Where to Start with Poetry
How do I know what I will like? Where should I begin? Common questions for anyone wanting to read poetry. When I first started to realise I enjoyed poetry, it was from discovering Wendy Cope. I think I came across her poem Another Valentine in The Guardian, and from there started to read much more of her work. She writes with a pithiness, and pin point observation that immediately appealed and felt instantly accessible.
Find a Good Anthology
This is how many people come to poetry. I remember the Puffin Book of Children’s Verse with its pale blue cover from when I was small. Although I have no recollection of the specific poems contained within it, I have a vague memory of chuckling as I read through the pages. Since then I have had other anthologies and still find flicking through them a good source of inspiration. In my copy of Poem for the Day (1), I enjoy finding todays date to discover which poem was deemed suitable for such a day The breadth and variety of poems contained in anthologies make it relatively easy to find something which resonates.
Listen to Poetry being read
One of my go to clips of poetry is DylanThomas reading his poem ‘Do Not Go Gently’. The richness of his voice, as he delivers this famous poem is completely beguiling. It adds a depth and meaning to the words which I don’t get from reading it myself. This poem resonates particularly with me and when I listen to Dylan Thomas recite the final two lines of the poem ‘Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light’, it makes me shudder with the intensity of it.
Listening to Maya Angelou recite her poem ‘And Still I Rise’ gives it life and breath.
If you already have a poet or poem you enjoy, it is highly likely you will be able to find readings on youtube or else where,
How to Read Poetry
Read it Twice and Read it Once More
I remember hearing that all poems should be read at least twice. I completely agree with this. Some poems will synch with you immediately you read them, others may take a bit longer. I tend to think of the first read as the familiarisation read. Often this is the quick run through, as you acquaint your self with words and phrases. Subsequent readings are ideally slower as you linger over words and phrases and try to understand what the poet is trying to covey. This is when I go back to particular lines, finding the link between ideas and opening my senses to the imagery.
Read it Aloud
This is something I have been doing more of in recent days and weeks too. There is real pleasure to be found in speaking poems aloud, and bringing them to life for yourself. Enjoy the lilt and lift of the words, roll them around your tongue and enjoy their taste on your lips.
I am so pleased I have poetry in my life. When the waters are choppy and I’m not sure of my place in the world, it is to poetry I turn.
