Reader’s Corner: The rhythm of poetry

Does anyone else ever need a break from the constant barrage of news, much of it divisive and bad? Let me suggest something that can provide that break and open the mind to creativity rhythm, and thankfulness: Poetry. 

As often happens, several circumstances combined to help me rediscover the value of poetry. One was our vacation last summer, when we visited the Concord, Massachusetts, area and the Old Manse, where several American writers gathered in the early and mid-1800s to process thoughts and current events through discussion and writing. One of those was the transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose “Boston Hymn” drew memories of the American Revolution into the mid-century conflict over slavery and was read to celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation. Many scholars also cite Emerson’s influence on other American poets including Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. 

The beautiful Christmas presentation at Freedom Encounter Theater, which included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” was another reminder that poetry has helped people over the centuries capture thoughts and prayers that bring comfort during difficult times. While some poets do express negative emotions and hopelessness, many others have turned to faith or to reflection on the beauty and rhythms of God’s creation. 

Although poetry can take many rhyme and meter forms, as well as free verse, the lyrical format can help our minds absorb truths and remember them. All of my kids enjoyed studying poetry; I particularly remember my daughter enjoying Dickinson’s figures of speech about nature, as in “I’ll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time.” 

My grandkids further cement in my mind the value of poetry. The Little Golden Book of “A Child’s Garden of Verses” featuring the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, has calmed them down during a storm (“Rain”), or inspired chanting to “The Swing” while swinging at the park. I’ve put more than one of them to bed with soft lamplight and “My Shadow” (“I see him jump before me as I jump into my bed”). Fun rhymes from Cindy Szekeres’ edition of Mother Goose Rhymes pop into mind in the garden (“Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater”) or when getting treats for the cat (“Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard”). Poetry also inspires movement that helps underscore teaching rhythm in a family of young musicians. 

I particularly love my Thomas Kinkade edition of “A Child’s Garden of Verses.” It incorporates Stevenson’s poetry, selected works from other poets and Scripture verses with Kinkade’s beautiful paintings. When recent weather delayed checking some things off my to-do list, “Picture Books in Winter” and “Wintertime” reminded me that God is in control and that every season has joys and beauty of its own. 

I’ve challenged myself, and would challenge you also, to consciously pick up a book of poetry a few times each week and lay aside the day’s news. And yes, a physical book gives a sense of relaxation and grounding that screens, handy as they are sometimes, just can’t replicate! Find a book of poems at one of our area libraries, or visit a local thrift shop or bookstore, and give it a try!