This article is extracted from a presentation given by Amanda Schenkenberger during the 5th Annual International Homeschooling Poetry Contest workshops.
My name is Amanda Schenkenberger and I like to say, I'm a poet, and I didn't know it. And today we are going to be diving into the wonderful world of poetry as a source of inspiration and motivation for you as mom. As we navigate the beautiful chaos of motherhood, we must be carving out moments of self-care. And what better way to do that than through the power of poetry? I'm going to share with you the benefits of poetry, explore some with you, and then share some practical tips of incorporating it into your routine.
I've loved poetry since I was a kid. I was one of those dark and moody, brooding teenagers with lots of feelings. And some of those feelings weren't very pretty. I dealt a lot with anger and anxiety. I even dealt with depression, suicide, and self-harm. I found some relief from processing my emotions through reading and writing poetry.
The benefits of poetry come with emotional connection, and poetry has this unique ability to capture the nuances of human emotion while allowing us to express what we're feeling while being understood and validated by others. One of the powers of poetry is that it can be a safe place for us to explore those emotions and connect with the source of internal angst and see it more clearly. It's like we use the words to embody our emotions. And so our emotions become almost tangible, like something we're looking at. We're trying to figure out the best way to describe what we are feeling, and it's so introspective and really helps us get in touch with how we are exactly feeling.
Poetry also helps us shift our perspective. It offers fresh perspectives on ones struggles, helping us see challenges in new light, and it invites that introspection and contemplation, providing a space for us to pause and reflect. Consider the complexities of life when you engage with it, or you write poems that resonate with your struggles. You're prompted to introspectively examine your own experiences and your own emotions. It can be really empowering for you to approach challenges with every sense of clarity and resilience that poetry can provide. It's also the language of the soul. You'll read poetry, and you'd be like, "That hits deep."
Poetry bypasses the noise of everyday life, and it resonates with our innermost thoughts and feelings. A lot of time it'll be like, "oh, that's what I've been trying to say." Just put my finger on it. So it helps. It just has this remarkable ability to evoke that imagery for us to help us express ourselves.
It can be really a cathartic outlet for self-expression, allowing you to release pent-up emotions and again find that clarity. It's sometimes like writing poetry is like doing a brain dump. You can put all my thoughts and feelings and emotions on the page, and now you can see them clearly, and they're not all jumbled up in my head. When I do it, I can begin to sort my thoughts out and think about them, analyze them, and then put them together in a picture.
By immersing yourself in poetry, reminded that beauty and strength can be found in the middle of life's struggles, you can face challenges with grace and resilience.
I wanted to share some poetry with you to explore. There are so many poets to choose from. I was really having a hard time choosing who to share, but because I feel that poetry is such an emotional experience, I chose Guest House by Rumi. He is known for his spiritual insights. His poetry celebrates the beauty of the human experience and encourages us to embrace love, courage, and resilience. His poem is called the Guest House.
Guest House
by Jalaluddin Rumi
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond..
I just love that. I like to sit in that poem. It's such a good one, really welcoming our emotions and not shunning certain ones. Not only celebrating others, but being a guest, having these guests in our house as part of the human experience, and honoring each emotion for what it is. And once we honor it, we might say again, we're done. Now we can move on. Sometimes we wanna sit in, especially positive emotions. And just maybe, say "Hey, can you stay a little longer? It would be great. I can make you a room."I just love this idea that that Rumi has.
The second poet I chose is Mary Oliver, and she has nature-inspired poetry that encourages us to slow down and connect with the world around us, and find solace in the beauty of the natural world.
The Summer Day
By Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean —
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down —
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
I love this. This poem really encapsulates us slowing down and noticing and observing our surroundings. I'm not a bug person but I could watch a grasshopper, eat sugar out of somebody else's hands. And just noticing that it's jaws. Don't do this. It's jaws. Do this. "Oh, that's fascinating. I've never noticed that about a grasshopper." But when we slow down, we pick up on these tiny little things, and poetry is something that helps us do that.
So, some practical tips for incorporating poetry into your routine is number one. If you kind of have a morning ritual already you can add a poem to that. I usually have a cup of coffee, maybe, for you it's tea, and then you can sit down with a poem that sets a positive tone for your day. You can add this to a quiet time, or just make it part of your morning breakfast table time, where you get the kids together, everybody's eating, and then you read some poetry. As they eat, you guys reflect on it together.
You can also keep a poetry journal where you can jot down your favorite poems, reflections, and thoughts inspired by your readings, and then different musings. You can also notice things about art or the weather, the smell of spring, your homeschooling and more. I highly suggest having a special little journal for writings like this. I have a handmade journal I picked up at a craft fair before I was pregnant with my oldest. So this is pretty old and I even have poetry from high school in it. But this is a very special little book that I'm gonna share. One of the poems I wrote here in a minute.
You can also, in order to incorporate poetry into your day, take poetry breaks. You take a break throughout the day and read poetry out loud to the kiddos, and have meaningful conversations around the poems or expressions, or ask your kids how they made them feel, allowing yourself to refocus and recharge, and Christine's book, A Year of Poetry Tea Time does a really good job of this helping you come up poetry to read and treats to make. So you guys could cook something together. This is part of home school. Once it's done, "Okay, you guys, let's bring the muffins or the cookies and let's read a few poems and let's talk about them."
And then, obviously, we can really incorporate poetry into our routine by writing our own as a form of self-expression and self-discovery. So I'm gonna read you the last poem I wrote in this journal. It's been close to 10 years since I wrote this poem. A very dear older friend of mine passed, and she was there during a lot of hard moments for me in my tween years. That's when I was writing a lot of poetry, too, and then through high school and in my early marriage
and she just meant a lot to me. She lived in the mountains, and it's one of the places where I have always felt like God comes and talks to me when I go to their property. So I wrote this poem in her honor.
The land beat with the drum of her heart
By Amanda Schenkenberger
The mountain's rhythm begins to slow without your gaze to bring it a flutter.
The magic that breathes joy and possibility into the drudgery of farm life fades with you.
Rough hands are simply rough hands and old ears dull without the softness of your chuckle floating on the breeze.
I always like the way your shoulders would jostle up and down when you laughed.
You taught me that Grit doesn't have to be angry.
And diligence doesn't have to be forceful.
How I wish I could be more like you!
Your care reminded me I was worth something.
Thank you for taking the time to remind me I was worth something.
I've learned one thing from you. It's how to be a fierce friend.
I treasure that importation
When I visit my favorite woods again, my homesick mountain will tell me how much it misses you, and we'll cry together
In the memory of Darryl and Kyle, the heart of Hatch Mountain.
She passed away last summer and I haven't gone back yet. It's in another state. But I'm planning on going there this summer, and her memory just lingers there, and it's such a a precious place to me. And so poetry can really help us capture those deep, meaningful moments and places and people in in time on a page, and we can then share them with others. And you know, with this poem in particular. I'm just really honoring her memory and how she was just a mother to so many people.
I really encourage you to spend some time writing your own poetry. And as you notice, this is just a set of sentences. I don't prefer to stick to a standard format, or try rhyming, I do on occasion. But I really like free flowing poetry. When I first discovered E.E. Cummings, I was like, "yes, this is how we should write poetry."
I really encourage you to embrace poetry as a tool for self-care and empowerment, whether you're seeking solace, inspiration, or a simple moment of beauty. Poetry will always be there to uplift and rejuvenate you, and help your heart, see what it's been murmuring
A Little About Amanda Schenkenberger
Homeschool Family Legacy is led by Amanda Schenkenberger, a seasoned, second-generation homeschooler and supportive mental health practitioner. She is an entrepreneurial homeschool mom to 4 boys. Her homeschool coaching will empower you to create a transformative journey where each lesson becomes an opportunity to instill the essence of your family’s identity into the hearts and minds of your children. She believes in embracing the legacy of love, knowledge, and character, ensuring a brighter future for Generation Alpha.
At Homeschool Family Legacy, our mission is to empower parents in their homeschooling journey by providing a pressure-free, transformative experience that fosters unbreakable family bonds and ignites a lifelong love of learning. We understand that homeschooling is more than just education; it’s about nurturing hearts, enriching minds, and sharing cherished values.
You can contact Amanda at https://homeschoolfamilylegacy.com/
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