By Navya D.
Poetry is a special form of literature that lends words of expression for every complex unexplainable human emotion. I deem poetry a superior form of literature. There is no way that your heart cannot connect with the rhythmic rhyming of your feelings. Be it “After love” by Sara Teasdale to tranquilize your broken heart, “Failure” by Amos R.Well to rage your demotivated soul, or “A Birthday” by Christina Rosetti to give wings to your joy, there is no way that your heart doesn’t reverberate to a verse.
Poetry is something beyond words. It’s therapy to both the writers and readers. While writers pour their feelings on a white paper, readers seek refuge from the overwhelming emotions in the rhythmic verses. Although I am nowhere in reach with William Shakespeare, Sylvia Path, or Rumi, I shed my layers of grief on a paper too. Even scientific studies reveal that poetry works as a therapy, maybe that is why you feel and heal through poetry.
Sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly my heart turns to a soothing poem, when I am sad, uninspired, alone, or lost. Even when I am happy, cheerful, ecstatic, and gratified, I hum a few poems in joy like a peacock dancing in the rain. No matter if you are anxious, weeping, heartbroken, joyous, peaceful, or calm, there is a poem that can feed your soul. Let me take this opportunity to bring to you these 10 beautiful poems to feed your heart and soul.
1. The peace of wild things:
“The peace of wild things” by Wendell Berry reminds me of the poem “Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening” by Robert Frost. There is something about both these poems that one cannot resist from binge listening to. I like the deepness the poem starts with.
“When despair for the world grows in me,
And I wake in the night at the least sound
In fear of what my life and my children’s lives maybe.”
How accurate the lines are for a person unable to fall asleep in the thick of the night. And, when he goes
“I go and lie down where the wood drake rests
in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things,
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.”
The lines surely make one realize how ignorant we are towards nature. If only we knew the solace that nature brings to us, would we have spent dollars on therapies and curative treatments?
I love the fact of both the deepness and accuracy of expression and the vocalization by Wendell Berry just made it apparent how nature can heal, besides the fact that the poem is already healing.
If you are reeling under uncertainty or the twinkling stars in the dark sky doesn’t bring peace to your heart, “The peace of wild things” will definitely let you rest in the ‘grace of nature.’
2. One Art by Elizabeth Bishop:
It is probably the right time to recite this 1976 poem in tribute to the lost souls and the lost smiles in memory of their loved ones.
“The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.”
Indeed the ‘art of losing isn’t hard to master.’ One year on, we are still beaming with hope, fighting with courage, and holding with strength. The losses are heavy I agree, but the disasters build us strong with hope and courage to face more and grow strong through the losses.
In remembrance of all the lost smiles, let us come back stronger and conquer the disaster.
3. Dive for dreams:
Ask a lost runner what is the distance between his dream and the end line, ask a racer how did he/she feel when they came to grief within a millisecond, and ask a swimmer how did they drown in their dreams after coming off with second best. ‘Dive for dreams’ is all about the distance between the dream and the time.
“All nearness passes, while a star can grow,
all nearness passes, while a star can grow.
All distance breathes a final dream of bells
perfectly outlined against afterglow
are all amazing and peacefull hills.
(not where not here but neither’s blue most both)
and history immeasurably is
wealthier by a single sweet day’s death:
as not imagined secrecies comprise.
Goldenly huge whole the up floating noon.
Time’s a strange fellow;
more he gives than takes
(and he takes all) nor any marvel finds.”
I am flabbergasted with the richness and depth of how the poet conveyed the sweet feeling of fulfilling one’s dreams. It’s indeed a fulfilling moment but I don’t think there is a better way of expression than this.
Are you intending to give up on your dream?
Read this poem and you can thank me later after ‘welcoming your future.’
4. Instructions for a bad day:
Well, we all have bad days. Life is not all about roses and acacias. But, ‘Instructions for a bad day’ by Shane Koyczan will sail you through all your bad days till the end of your life.
“We hungry underdogs,
we risers with dawn,
we dismissers of odds,
we blessers of on-
we will stations ourselves to the calm.”
If this verse doesn’t wake up the sleeping lion in you, I don’t know what will.
“We will hold ourselves to the steady, be ready, player one.”
“Life is going to come at you armed with hard times and tough choices, your voice is your weapon,
Your thoughts ammunition
There are no free extra men,
Be aware that as the instant now passes,
It exists now as then.”
Indeed, life is rather unapologetic, tough, and discourteous at times. But, that is how life is meant to be. And, we are all alone in our own journeys. If only we had an army to have our back in times of need, life would have been much easier. Still, we have courage, determination, and the will power to fight it all alone, which are no less than an army yet we fail to recognize the hidden strength.
“So, be a mirror reflecting yourself back,
and remembering the times when you thought all of this was too hard
and that you’d never make it through.”
But, not only did you make it through, you are arming up for more to come. So my friend, don’t sob because it’s happening again, tune into this poem and welcome tomorrow with new clothes.
5. Wild Geese:
Human life is an unending suffering. But, they matter very little in the grand scheme of nature. That is what Mary Oliver captures in her famous poem “Wild Geese.” I like the subtle wording yet the poem sounds very elegant with natural imagery.
“Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese,
high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.”
When is the last time you are content with yourself? Well, none of us remember that, because we don’t acknowledge our place in this beautiful nature enough.
Oliver has a solution for us all. If ever you feel despair of not being enough and feel the burden of the society, revisit this Oliver’s masterpiece. She wants us not to worry and acknowledge our existence in nature with the same certainty as that of a goose. Because, whoever you are, you have a place in the ‘family of nature.’
6. Hope is the thing:
Hope is a bird that takes our heart and dreams to places that we never imagine we would reach. And, Emily Dickinson reassures that hope doesn’t leave you even if you do in her “Hope is the thing”
““Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all”
True. Hope never stops at all, even in the thickest of despair and the darkest of misery. Emily has given the ‘hope that is perching in our soul’ a wonderful shape.
And, when she says
“I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.”
I felt that deep. There are so many examples of hope being our savior in times of misery and grief. Hope helped us sail through floods, world wars, conquests, invasions, and even existential crisis, what not. Take the pandemic for instance or ask an entrepreneur what kept him waiting for that one favorable moment. HOPE, it is!
7. Sonnet 98:
If the list doesn’t feature Shakespeare, it will be a great disgrace to poetry. I wouldn’t let the crime happen, for Shakespeare is one of the profound contributors to poetry and literature.
In “Sonnet 98”, which is one of the 154 sonnets written by Shakespeare, he grieves the separation from his beloved, a young man.
“From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud pied April,
dressed in all his trim,
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laughed and leapt with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue,
Could make me any summer’s story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew:
Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seemed it winter still,
and you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.”
Shakespeare’s art of words always speaks for themselves. Considering the artistic deftness and the depth of emotions he sheds on paper, there is no reason to not relate to the pain, joy, and love he inks on the paper. And, this definitely is one such masterpiece from thousands of his works.
8. Failure:
“Failure is a rocky hill,
Climb it! Climb it with a will!
Failure is a broken bone,
Set it! Grin, and do not groan!
Failure is a tangled string,
Puzzle out the knotted thing!
Failure is a river swift,
Swim it! Swim, and do not drift!
Failure is a black morass,
Cross it! There are tufts of grass!
Failure is a treacherous pit,
Scramble, clamber out of it!
Failure is an inky night,
Sing! Expect the morning light!
Failure is an ugly coal,
Fuse it to a diamond soul!”
Could there be a more accurate expression of failure?
Failure is indeed a rocky hill, a broken will, a treacherous pit, and an ugly coal. But, your determination to climb the rocky hill decides whether you perish or prosper.
Let me just leave the case there, because Amos Rusel Wells had already put it in the simplest yet powerful way. If you are vexed with repeated trials, hum the “Failure” poem and work towards your success path with rejuvenated energy. Don’t just die with lack of will, rise from the ashes like a phoenix bird.
9. A Birthday:
Human heart is like a hummingbird, it tunes to the mood. But it sings beautiful, when it is overwhelmed and flattered.
“A Birthday” by Christina Rosetti paints a rejoicing heart with her magical words.
“My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.”
Love is a strange thing. It rejoices the memorable moments of it’s love more than its ‘bodylord.’ Christina has beautifully described the anxiety her heart feels for her love’s upcoming birthday.
Are you also super charged and excited for your loved ones’ memorable day? Then sing with ‘Christina’ and share the joy.
10. The Type:
The repetitive connotation of Sarah Kay in “The Type” emphasizes on the themes of women identity, empowerment, and their relation with men.
This is one of my favorite poems about women. Because, most of the time, women are compared and contrasted but we are a lot more and need a lot more emphasis. Sarah Kay has captured that essence the conversations and parlays about women are lacking.
If you didn’t tune into the powerful wording yet, Sarah Kay’s “The Type” has sent strong echoes across the globe and you will witness why once you hum through it.
“If you grow up the type of woman men want to look at,
you can let them look at you.
Do not mistake eyes for hands
Or windows. Or mirrors.
Let them see what a woman looks like.
They may not have ever seen one before.
If you grow up the type of woman men want to touch,
you can let them touch you.
Sometimes it is not you they are reaching for.
Sometimes it is a bottle. A door. A sandwich.
A Pulitzer. Another woman.
But their hands found you first.
Do not mistake yourself for a guardian.
Or a muse.
Or a promise.
Or a victim.
Or a snack.
You are a woman. Skin and bones. Veins and nerves.
Hair and sweat.
You are not made of metaphors. Not apologies. Not excuses.”
Words fall short to describe the appropriateness and the rawness of the poem. But, I gathered all my courage to put it into one word, breathtaking. For the lack of a better word, I have to restrict myself to the limitations of vocabulary to describe this flabbergasting description of what it is actually to be a woman.
For me, there is one poem for every occasion, each emotion, and every person. If you don’t concur, you haven’t experienced the power of poetry yet. Are you sad, uninspired, lost, or feeling alone? Worry not there is a poem to lift you up? Are you ecstatic and your heart is burdened with the overwhelming amount of joy? There is a poem to lighten the weight. Are you grieving for someone? Maybe humming a poem can wipe your bleeding eyes.
You might have already recited tons of other poems or some of you might have been searching for one that soothes your disturbed heart. If that’s the case, you have landed on the right page. I hope your heart must have resonated with one or the other poem, no matter in which mood you are in. If you got wet in the rhythmic expressions of these poets, like and share it with your dear ones. Who knows one amongst these poems might open the path for blocked hearts and suppressed emotions. And, for more beautiful stories and write-ups in literature, keep following Booked4Books.