In these hard times, people search for a distraction or a way to express their emotions. One way to do that is through poetry. Poetry is an extension of yourself through the story you want to tell, expressing a wide range of feelings such as happiness, sadness, etc. — at least, that’s how I see it.
Gabrielle Myers, an English teacher at Delta College, has similar ideas.
“Poetry is our way of singing about our existence. In many ways, poetry emerges from a ‘break’ or fracture with the everyday and that breakage gives us
sudden insight and awareness into the ways that we process or view the world around us,” she said.
Poetry is a stress reliever for me, as well as just a way to tell a story the way I want it to be told. With writing I have never felt more free. When you put words on paper your emotions just spill onto the paper.
”Drafting helps get out feelings and ideas that we may not even fully understand yet and polishing it can help us gain that understanding,” said Writer’s Guild adviser Cassandra Oplia. “And as readers poetry can calm us-make us feel less isolated. We often assume that no one knows how we feel, but poetry proves that wrong.”
Free writing is my favorite form of writing because you can write whatever you want, the feeling of freedom is like water running down your back. When you write, you write because you have a story to tell in your own way and when that story is read by others.
To let people know they are not alone, that others like them that are going through, or have gone through the same or similar situation can really lift someone’s spirits, and even save a life.
When you’re finally done writing and sit back and examine your work, like an artist stepping back to see what masterpiece they’ve created. In the end, to see your work of art complete, is the greatest feeling in the world.
The writer’s guild is holding a poetry reading on May 11 at 4 p.m. on the Zoom app. This event is an “open mike” event, which means that it’s open to all who wish to participate — anyone in the Delta community can share their work. The prompt for the event is to create a piece of poetry, flash fiction or a personal essay responding to any aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The call can be found at https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/96581423961.