I will preface this by saying I was once quite anti-poetry. Having grown up only reading it when I was required to for various English classes, I believed it to be dense and frustrating to interpret.
This was only further confirmed by the time I was forced to write a Shakesperean sonnet in tenth grade. No, I have not forgiven my teacher at the time for making me struggle through writing it.
Today, as an active writer and consumer of poetry, I know that it can be an incredibly powerful tool in promoting social change. Where long from articles and written works can overdo a point and overstay their welcome, poetry can in short form deliver a concise message.
In these tumultuous times, I often look to poetry as a stabilizing agent. One poem that has resonated with me recently is Muriel Rukeyser’s Poem (I lived in the first century of world wars).
An example of a short poem that still leaves the reader with a lasting impression, Rukeyser’s words shed light on the fatigue and loss of innocence that comes from being alive during a time of what seems like ceaseless war.
The line in the piece “The news would pour out of various devices” resonates even today, as we all absorb our news from different media outlets and mediums.
For you, one of these might be The Cord (and I hope it is — but you are reading this, so it seems to be).
Where news stories with their objective accounts of world news cannot speak to the human heart, I believe that poetry can fill in the gaps in capturing a particular moment or timely generational struggle.
One such poet is Matthew Zapruder, who wrote the poem Generation X. A line that stood out to me in this piece of work is the author’s final lines which read “lovingly not forgiving/ourselves for hating ourselves/is the only solution.”
While I am not a member of Generation X, I think this is a line that crosses and encompasses many generations. It is poignant.
When writing poetry, I seek to invoke similar feelings in those listening. Last month, I read two of my pieces at a poetry open mic at Midnight Run in Uptown Waterloo. It was strange to read words that were so personal to my own experiences and emotions in a live venue, but it only demonstrated to me the importance of poetry in connecting people.
By hearing people’s experiences and musings through their poetry readings, I was able to connect with everyone who spoke without having to talk to them directly. This was incredible to experience, and I hope those listening felt the same when they heard me read my work.
Poetry bridges gaps, brings communities together and finds significance in the pulling together of fragments into a whole.
If you have not tried writing it before, I encourage you to give it a try —you might, like me, find that it was something you needed in your life all along.
Graphic by Meaghan Ince
