Poetry As Medicine
but is it the words that heal us?
Last night we worked with Andrea Gibson’s spider poem again; same words, completely different journey.
If you’re a paid subscriber, scroll all the way down to see the replay.
Someone shared that the first time through, it was about learning to be kind to pain. This time however, the poem presented her with an image of herself as a young girl playing, in spite of pain & being present with joy.
Someone else realised their journal is becoming a sacred space; not for making beautiful things, but for being present. For safety. For play.
And I kept landing on this line: “as I walk careful out to the garden.”
Not “as I flung it out the window screaming.” Not “as I panicked and got someone else to deal with it.” Which I have done many a time.
Careful.
And I thought about how so much of the work is not the eradication of fear but learning to meet that which is scary with CURIOUSITY, COURAGE & NEXT RIGHT ACTION instead of just our ingrained TRAUMA responses.
Learning that kindness can have boundaries, it does not mean being a doormat. That you can be gentle with something and still say “this is my house and you need to leave.”
Why We Keep Working With the Same Poem
This is the second week with this poem. We’ll work with it all month.
Because poems don’t reveal everything at once. They work their medicine slowly. What you discover in week one isn’t what you’ll find in week four.
Life changes and while the poem stays the same, it also journeys with you. Hopefully you keep them like a personal record collection, a poem for every problem, vibe & mood. Helping you in the moments when all you can really do to stop from spiralling, is to remember something true.
These sessions happen weekly for paid subscribers - a chance to slow down, witness each other and let poetry do what it does best: show us what we already know but haven’t been able to name yet.
Next session: Wed May13th @ 7-8pm Irish Time
A paid subscription gets you: live access to weekly journal sessions, the full replay library, exclusive content and the messy real stuff I only share here.
See you next week.
Amanda x
P.s. I positioned my camera overhead on this call so you could see me journaling during our quiet time - I know people enjoy that and I think it adds a bit more interest / value to the call as well. One participant said it helped her be more courageous & loose.
Let me know what you think!
May 7th Replay is below