Say "Yes" To Poetry

How my experience with poetry changed my outlook on life

   If I’m going to be honest, I’m not that into poetry.

     When librarian Jeannine Barber asked me to participate in the Intergenerational Poetry Project with previous Viking Saga editor-in-chief Noelle Avena last year, I was initially quite hesitant.

     I’d never written poetry before. The only experience I had with poetry was in Ms. Buckley’s AP Literature class.

     But, I had this “Say yes!” mentality, which I do recommend for anyone and everyone, so I agreed to participate. 

     And it was the best decision I’ve made.

     I had the opportunity to meet and connect with a local elder, Hardeep, who is a beautiful, humble woman from Kenya. I met with her for two hours at a time every couple weeks at her quaint home where we shared crumpets and tea (very poetic, I know). She told me stories of her life, growing up in Kenya, traveling to London for university, and moving to America to pursue nursing. Her story was truly inspiring and it was my duty to capture her life in poems.

     Now, this was quite the daunting task as someone who had little-to-no experience with poetry, but I sat down at my kitchen table, coffee in hand, and wrote. 

     I was able to create five impactful poems, depicting each stage of her life: from youth to present time. 

     In early spring 2022, a celebration at the Mystic Library in Connecticut provided the setting for where I read aloud the poems I had crafted.

     Nervously, with the papers rattling in my hands, I stood in front of the audience, about to relay Hardeep’s story through my artful words.

     And so I began…

     After I read, I looked up at the silent room and saw the tear-filled eyes beaming at me, especially Hardeep’s.

     She told me how moved she was by my poetry and how she had no idea how I could make her seemingly “insignificant” life sound so important and powerful. 

     It was then I realized how significant the art of words is, especially poetry. The ability to choose and put together words to create stories, imagery, and art is truly empowering.

     It showed me my passion for writing can be found in different mediums and how writing can uncover the gravity of a seemingly “insignificant” story. To her, and to many, their lives seem “insignificant” until they are shared through someone else’s inspired eyes and voice.

     Hardeep and her family can now cherish her memories forever through poems and I left the Intergenerational Poetry Project with a new appreciation of poetry and writing, one that has changed my life forever.

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My poems:

Precious Flowers

I held my breath, for the willow tree 

stopped dancing.

The flowers were free

To be given attention

Lovers on one knee in a patch of red red roses

young girls dancing with lilies, all pretty and white;

daisies too, prepped with lovely poses

flourishing in the sun’s almighty light

I held my breath to absorb the view.

The wind held her breath, and so would you!

For no one could allow for one petal to leave

There was no sight of flower thieves

For time moves on through growth and decay

My love for flowers will always stay.

Inspiration:

Hardeep visited the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, a place which she will always remember for its beauty and life. A reminder to appreciate the beauty in our world. 

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Healing with Hands

I watched her sit and cry

Her love was dying, but she could not say goodbye

My heart wrenched, my heart burned, my heart sobbed for her–

The power from inside of love and healing

Stretched through my veins and became a feeling–

Of hope

Of love

Of power

Of desire

I touched her love, feeling the magic flow through

Through nature, through connection, through hand healing truth

I could heal with a touch

The power of my hands and energy must

Comfort her love, for they revive

I could heal so many lives

My hands, my hands

Her love began breathing again. 

Explanation:

Hardeep is very interested in the power of healing with hands. Through the practice of Reiki, Hardeep gave her energy as a form of healing and comfort to some of her patients. 

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In Africa

In Africa,

I saw the long necked giraffes, black striped zebras, and wild wildabeast roam freely.

In Africa,

I saw the brown dirt roads, brown family farms, brown mudhuts, and brown people.

In Africa, 

I saw people like me. I lived with people like me. I went to school with people like me. 

Brown kids, brown teachers, brown floors, brown walls.

In Africa,

I lived in a tight brown community where everyone knew everything about everyone.

In Africa,

I felt brown beauty, brown love, brown security, and brown comfort.

Yet, in Africa,

Not everyone had brown comfort.

There too were comforts of white and black.

White. Brown. Black.

We were Separate.

In Africa,

There were white hospitals, brown hospitals, black hospitals.

White schools, brown schools, black schools.

White communities, brown communities, black communities.

In Africa,

We were separate. And that’s how we liked it. 

We found love and comfort with the color of our own skin, and avoided the prejudice from those of different colors. 

In Africa,

We value our own culture and live among our own people.

In Africa,

I had brown comfort.

Explanation:

Hardeep grew up in Kenya when Africa was still greatly underdeveloped. She experienced the colonization of the British which led to more segretated communities and a sense of racism between the different colors of skin. There were separate communities for different skin colors and Hardeep felt safe and secure in her own ‘brown’ community, where there was a lack of racism. The white people took their dominance and looked down upon the people of color through prejudices, therefore, she liked the sense of a shared culture and identity in her community. She had her brown comfort.  

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We Are All Human

The British people came to Kenya and were told to keep away from us colored folk.

The British people were given the best treatment, although they were not from here.

The British people were treated like royalty.

I went to London to study nursing.

In dark, gray September, I sat in a train and looked out the window

At the dreary houses which matched the dreary sky.

Where are the castles? Where are the mansions? Where are the golden gates?

In their places were gray houses, gray roads, and gray skies.

Maybe not all white folk had rich houses. Or rich cars. Or rich china. Or rich thoughts.

I went to college to study nursing. 

I feared I was not good enough compared to the white students around me. I felt inferior.

But I was far from right. 

Everyone worked hard. We all struggled. We all had the same experiences. We all were students. We all are supporters. We all are one.

We all are human. 

Explanation:

Hardeep faced racism in Kenya with the integration of white, black and brown people. She felt as though the white people had declared their stance in her world as superior, therefore, she could never compete with them for she thought would never be as successful as them. Though, she had a revelation when she went to London to study nursing. She realized white people were just like her and that they had to work just as hard as her to earn a nursing degree. From then on, she had pride and power which she didn’t think she could have back in Kenya. She became a successful nurse and eventually came to America to practice nursing in hospitals. She recognized that we are all human, we all share experiences and drive to do well in this world. We are all one.

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Blessings

Everyday is an experience

People accomplish so much and life changes so much

Makes you appreciate life, you know?

You don’t know if there will be a later, or a tomorrow, or a next day

As a nurse, everyday is a blessing.

Everyday is life changing

This person who was so smart, so wise, so successful

I cannot always save them.

Just as they grasped the pinnacle of life, they’re gone.

As a nurse, everyday is a blessing.

Everyday is a chance to make a difference

People suffer so much: men, women, children

I use my hands to heal, to touch, to comfort.

I see the difference I can make and appreciate today

As a nurse, everyday is a blessing.

Everyday is a blessing

The world can be a scary place

I have no right to ask for anything else because I am so lucky to be who I am

To live where I live, to have what I have

What more can I ask for? I have everything I need.

Everyday is a blessing. 

Explanation:

Hardeep feels so blessed to have had the opportunities to succeed in life by becoming a nurse, saving people, and loving people. She emphasizes the importance of being grateful in life and wants others to appreciate the small things and recognize what you do have instead of what you don’t.