Word Medicine: The Art of Poetry as a Healing Tool

One of the things I've always been sure about in my life is the written word's ability to change the mind. I'm not talking about control and manipulation. I'm talking about changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts. I'm talking about changing negative energy to positive energy with the written word.

Over the years I've read, studied, and practiced information about positive affirmations. An affirmation is a statement - negative or positive - that affirms something to be true. Many times in my life I've fed words into my mind that were negative. When I came across information on positive affirmations around the year 2000, I realized I could feed my mind something positive for a change.

We all have those moments in life where we are not feeling very positive about anything. Yet, it's important that during those times especially we start to feed our minds with positive words. I've been put in those types of situations several times as a test. And it's easier said than done, I will admit that to you. But it's well worth the time and effort.

I look at positive affirmations, positive meditations, etc. as medicine we are giving ourselves on a regular basis to help us feel better in every way in our lives - mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I've read about so many people who have survived serious illnesses because of prayer, meditation/chanting, positive affirmations, poems, songs, etc. This is all evidence of the power of the written word to change our minds from a negative state to a positive state. This evidence is also scientific.

Many studies have been done that showed all forms of words whether they were spoken or written directly effected the human psyche (mind), body, and spirit. Therefore, I will always believe that words written or spoken have their effect on us. My life is a living testimony to this fact.

One of my favorite ways to use words to help myself heal is through poetry. A poem is a piece of creative writing that flows rhythmically and it can either rhyme or not rhyme. Poetry comes in many forms. There are different types of poems that have been written for many centuries. There's the villanelle, sonnet, sestina, haiku, free form, and many others.

My two favorite types of poetry are haiku and free form. The haiku I love because it poses a challenge when writing it due to its formula. The free form is wonderful because the name of it speaks for itself. You can be as free as you wish with the form of the poem. Below are some examples of a haiku poem and a free form poem.

Haiku

there are no wrong turns

only right turns on the wrong roads

but take a u-turn

Free Form

only love is inside

where our hearts

beat

we listen patiently

for the sound of

trust

As you can see the haiku is a formula poem. Take a careful look at it. There are three lines to a haiku poem, which is a Japanese form of poetry that was developed several centuries ago. Within those three lines, the poem is broken down into syllables. Each line has a certain amount of syllables. The first line is five syllables. The second line is seven syllables. The third line is five syllables.

The free form is just that - it's free form. I decided to write it the way you see above. I could've written it in a different way, but I went with the feeling of it the poem and what I wanted to convey.

I'd like to encourage you to try writing poetry. It's a wonderful way to write your feelings down. Here are a couple of writing exercises you can do with these two forms of poetry in your free time:

Writing Exercise #1 - Write a haiku poem about an feeling you've experienced often such as anger, excitement, bitterness, or joy. Convey it in your poem without saying what the feeling is - in other words, do not use the word 'joy', 'anger', or 'excitement.' Simply convey the feeling through a scenario that describes the feeling.

Writing Exercise #2 - Write a free form poem about childhood experience. Use your poetic license to be as free with the words and form of the poem as you wish. Just let it all go and allow yourself to be as creative as you can.

I hope you enjoy these exercises and will continue to let poetry be a wonderful form of expression for you. Write your poems and allow them to be your affirmations. Read them aloud to yourself. Share them with friends and family. Heal yourself with your written words. The power is within you. Let your words be your medicine.