Poetry—A Gateway to Feelings

Try to find the poetry section in a bookstore. It’s often tucked away in corner on the lower shelves. However, when someone dies, relatives and loved ones find solace in poetry. Poems are often read out loud at funerals. You’re not dying, so what has poetry got to do with you? The nature of poetry is to evoke feelings.

Even if you’ve never written a poem, you might want to give it a try, especially when you are in recovery for an addiction. Writing poetry can get you down to the heart of the matter. You can write whatever you like. Your poems don’t have to be good, or rhyme, or meet any standard because they are just for you. When you write a poem you are simply giving yourself permission to open up about a certain subject.

Take for example the lines from a poet expressing the loss of two friends. I tell you, wanting to live was a real feat—one of you homeless, the other, heroin. Thirty years later you’re both dead meat. Twenty years earlier I had to defeat the booze, which made me so mean that night we pissed in the street.

Notice the poet didn’t try to couch the hard truths, and felt free to use vulgar terminology. You probably have something you want to get off your chest. Having an addiction, and seeking help is a courageous act of self preservation. Write about that. Maybe you have things for which you’re not proud. Write about that. Gather your thoughts and write them down as succinctly as possible. Try to tell the truth without fanfare, because embellishments may not ring true to the depth of what you are communicating.

Did you feel a modicum of relief from writing the poem? Did you feel your energy move from pain to acceptance? Now read your poem aloud. Maybe there are lines you want to change that will make the poem more accessible or coherent. Again, there are no rules for this purpose.

Unlocking or releasing pent up pain may be very helpful in recovery especially if you were harmed emotionally, physically or sexually as a child. This holds true if you’ve suffered a traumatic event. Write a poem. Give it a try and keep up the daily work of recovery. You’re on your way to lasting recovery with every feeling you release.

Serenity Oaks provides an intensive 5 week program to support your sobriety and recovery from addiction. We provide medical support, detox, and other help such as building life skills. Through individualized programs we help you move forward in recovery. Call us to find out how we can help you get started: 844-396-8526.  

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