Blog: Poems open up new views
People who enjoy reading fictive prose may be less familiar with poems. Some even find them hard to understand. Yet poems often depict ordinary life events in a concise way.
I discovered poetry at an early age. Poems have brought joy into my life, given rise to many kinds of thoughts, and encouraged me in difficult situations.
If you are not familiar with poems but would like to learn about them, start with anthologies of poems by several writers. Among them you may find one or two that seem interesting enough for further reading.
You can also write poems yourself. By writing a poem you can crystallize in words significant moments and memorable life experiences. Poems seem to work best when they make the readers open their sensory channels to different stimuli.
I wrote this poem as an adult, looking back to some precious childhood memories:
I return to the footsteps of childhood,
walking paths of
verdant midsummer.
Fields dappled
with patches of sunlight,
winds that caress
the white trunks of birches
and carry the fragrance of forest,
winds that have the gentle songs of
childhood on their lips.
The clay by the ditch
sticks to the soles of my feet.
I watch birds migrate,
surrounded by bright morning light.
Poems typically use figurative language that arouses mental images and emotions and also provide fresh viewpoints and observations. A short, succinct poem is easy to remember if it contains an idea that the reader can grasp.
Many of the songs that we remember from childhood were written by skillful poets. For many children the first memorable poem is the evening prayer, which gives them a safe and secure feeling at bedtime.
Poems can be interpreted in many ways, and each reader picks out personally significant content and different meanings and nuances. Poems can comfort the reader or make them laugh or cry.
At times of strong emotions, I often begin to hear the words of hymns or songs in my mind. Music and poems go hand in hand.
Religious and Christian poetry typically contains symbols and metaphors of hope, comfort and trust in God. There is also poetry in the Bible. The Psalms, the Song of Solomon and the Lamentations are the most widely known and read poetic Bible texts.
I feel that poems caress my mind. Working with old people, I have seen that even elders with memory problems have been revived by poems and songs. They have opened old paths in the person’s mind and built bridges from the present to the past.
The best poems can accompany us through life. We want to go back to their message or atmosphere over and over again.
I especially remember the collection of poems about grief and longing that was given to me by colleagues after my father’s death. The poems in that book helped me verbalize my nostalgia and sorrow and comforted me.
Text: Vaula Eskeli
Translation: Sirkka-Liisa Leinonen
You will find the original blog post here.
Ravitse meitä armollasi joka aamu, niin voimme iloita elämämme päivistä. Ps. 90:14
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