Poetry has long been an emotional and mental dumping-ground for me; an ability to word-vomit and process my everyday experiences in artistic form. From childhood poems about allegators brushing their teeth and what I see in people’s hands, to processing my anxiety symptoms and stressful dreams, I have written poetry for a long time. I would never say that I am a professiona” by any means, but I want to share another option for dealing with complex mental struggles, or everyday expressions of emotion. Poetry writing is very therapeutic, and gives me creative freedom to express myself.
Like journaling, poetry is a way to get your feelings out on paper, explain your emotions in a meaningful way, and gives a person healthy ways to cope with the most troubling parts of life. At least, that is what I use it for. Some of the most abstract feelings and uncontrollable emotions have become so much more manageable and has changed the way I think about my experiences. I used to feel that what I was going through was ugly and not relatable, but after sharing my poetry with other people, I have grown to understand that my problems are beautiful! Other people relate to what I go through and they have appreciated the art that comes out of it. It is awesome to watch my poetry make a difference, and I hope I can inspire all of you to consider what creative outlets work the best for you. It could help you learn more about yourself!
Poetry has taught me a lot about my personality and how I see the world around me. From strangers I see at coffee shops, their beautifully crafted clothing style or the way that their hair blows in the wind, or how I see my own thoughts from afar, like an airplane among the clouds or a house getting older overtime. Being able to express myself in this way is definitely something I had to work on, it didn’t just come to me overnight. I had to write poems over and over again, edit a line or two, or totally rip it out and try again. The biggest struggle I have is writers block. I even wrote a poem about writers block one time… an accurate display of my desperation to write on that day. To mitigate this, I go on a walk, or look back on old poetry. By walking, I am able to find small things that peak my interest, and then I run with it. For example, I wrote a poem recently about a park I drove to one day on one of my under-creative days, and wrote about what I saw. It didn’t end up being the best poem in the world of poetry, but it helped me write! In other cases I have had to go back to old poems I wrote, and rarely some other poet’s pieces, to find inspiration. Some of the time I lose my writing style, so when I go back to old poems, I can see what I may be missing in my current creative expedition.
Poetry is, in itself, a log of what beautiful things I see in this world, and where I see flaws in my own thinking. It helps me to think introspectively and put my thoughts on paper; they become so much more manageable that way. I hope that one day I am able to share my poetry with the world, but there is so much work to be done. Maybe one day I’ll use what writing skills I do have, for good.
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