After being in my weekly Poetry Therapy group a few times, a client said to me the other day, “I didn’t think I could write poetry, but it’s easy!” People often ask me how clients with little or no creative writing experience can craft such meaningful, honest poetry. I tell them all the same thing: Speaking one’s truth is never easy. It doesn’t just happen on its own. It takes courage, trust and an open heart because poetry speaks to the heart, not the head. Over time, however, the group creates an environment that fosters immense respect among the group members, which encourages non-judgment and appreciation for the writing each member produces.
Often in Poetry Therapy, a poem that speaks to the needs and experience of the group acts as a catalyst for further writing. The group poem at the end of this blog post, for example, was inspired by a poem that touched on a theme the group had discussed in a previous meeting. All the group members found themselves longing for certain events and/or people that had been an important part of their lives before entering the Sanctuary House program. This feeling is akin to the prevalent themes and ideas in the poem “Things I Didn’t Know I Loved” by Turskish poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963). Hikmet, acclaimed as one of the great international poets of the twentieth century, was imprisoned for his radical political acts for several years. Upon being released from prison in 1951, he left Turkey for Moscow. Hikmet’s poem, written in 1962, in part reads:
“I didn’t know I liked rain
whether it falls like a fine net or splatters against the glass my
heart leaves me tangled up in a net or trapped inside a drop
and takes off for uncharted countries I didn’t know I loved
rain but why did I suddenly discover all these passions sitting
by the window on the Prague-Berlin train”
Poetry Therapy Group Activity
The excerpt from the poem was distributed to group members. Two volunteers recited the excerpt aloud so that each member could hear it spoken twice in an effort to absorb all the words and their meanings. Then, members discussed which lines spoke to them the most. The discussion mostly revolved around places they loved, people they missed, and things they hadn’t said but wished they had. These types of readings and discussions are designed to provide the group with focus before the act of writing. The poet Gregory Orr describes this process as “quieting the chaos of the mind.”
After their discussion, group members each went away for a while to write. After ten minutes or so, they came back together to each read their whole poems or a few favorite lines. The resulting group collaborative poem is recorded below.
I Never Knew I Loved…
after Nazim Hikmet, Turkish poet, from the poem “Things I Didn’t Know I Loved”
I did not know I loved pain
until I saw the emotional gifts from it
I did not know I loved life
until I almost lost my own.
I did not know I loved
to be on time in space
I didn’t know I missed the trees
at Los Osos Pines…
I didn’t know I missed your eyes
or the sweltering look in your face.
I never knew I loved my freedom
until it was gone…
I didn’t know how much I missed
my friend. The sharing laughter and singing,
walking and swims at Barton Springs.
I didn’t know I loved those nights
I drank every breath
trying to be so alone tempting Death…
I didn’t know I loved
my own pain, my pain was calling me.
I didn’t know I loved the Sky
It’s blues, blacks and grays…
Oh high Sky so true, I love the way
your blue peeps down on me.
I never knew I loved a sunset
orange, yellow, glowing
glistening over the water,
getting darker and darker
fading, fading.
Group Poem May 14, 2019
by Ruth, Randy, Suzie, I.W. and other anonymous
About the Author
Perie Longo, PhD, LMFT
Perie Longo, PhD, LMFT is a Registered Poetry Therapist in private practice and has led poetry therapy groups at Sanctuary Centers since 1991. Author of four books of poetry, she is a previous Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara (2007-09). A past president of the National Association of Poetry Therapy, she has been awarded their Outstanding Achievement Award and in 2018 the Pioneer Award for ground breaking and exemplary work that advances the study and practice of poetry therapy. In 2005 she was invited to Kuwait University to speak on the subject as Poetry as a Pathway to Peace. In 2003, Perie discussed poetry therapy on the popular radio show, “The Osgood File”, hosted by Charles Osgood.
