POETRY WORKSHOP
SAY HELLO, WAVE GOODBYE
Poetry can be a coping strategy in hard times, says Alison Chisholm as she explores a poem written at the beginning of lockdown
Alison Chisholm
WHEN
As she waved goodbye I could feel the tears Running down my face. I will miss her smile, Her company;
Her infectious laughter. I do not know When I will see her again. We are isolated -
From our family and friends. Isolated, from life as We know it.
We face an uncertain future. Will life ever be the Same again?
Questions, with no answers. So we take one step, And one day at a time.
Waiting to pick up Our lives and freedom.
When, we do not know.
We should never underestimate the therapeutic value of writing poetry. A poem is condensed, controlled and tautly written.
It is neat and orderly. So when life is thrown into turmoil for any reason, writing a poem brings order to the chaos, and at the same time, reassurance to the troubled mind. It is not surprising, then, that people who don’t ever write poetry in the normal course of events will confess to writing a poem at a time of emotional ferment, maybe when their first love affair fell apart, or their child was born, or a family member died. The poem was written, the mind was cleared, and the possibility of moving on presented itself.