Previously, we at Daastan, brought to your our poetry workshop. We highlighted the importance of inspiration from pre-existing poetic works. Thus, we now bring to you our set of poetry recommendations to get you started! Get your hot beverage ready, reach for your blankets and lets start our journey through a wonderful world of poetry. You’ll realize, it isn’t all supposed to be beautiful and nicely packaged. In fact, good poetry only needs to resonate- if it does that for you then it is good enough for us.
The Summer You Learned to Swim by Michael Simms
So often we confuse poetry with romanticism- the love kind, not the nature kind. Although both could be true for you…who knows?. Yet, the funny thing is, we focus so much on love that we forget the different ways in which it makes itself known to us. First up in our poetry recommendations is “The Summer You Learned to Swim”. Moreover, it is the sweetest, most heart warming condensation of parental love in words. Additionally, through just a few verses it also conveys the drastic impact a child has on the parent- in a way that isn’t really talked about. In order to read the full poem, click here.
I tried not rising in anger.
Watching you I grew stronger-
your courage washed away my fear.
Winter Sun by Molly Fisk
Moving on, we also confuse poetry with sadness and that is simply so far from the truth! Especially when there is little less that can present the sheer goodness and kindness of humans- except poetry itself. We are trying to keep our poetry recommendations slightly unconventional with the approach taken, hopefully it works out. Further, if it is things that make you feel warm and loved then do give “Winter Sun” a read here.
We can make do with so little, just the hint
of warmth, the slanted light.
Two Headed Calf by Laura Gilpin
Often our poetry reflects the world we live in and often we forget just how surreal it is- even without poetic license. Which is to say, if we truly perceive things as they are- aside from how society and rationality dictates it; there is so much magic to be found. This is evident in our next recommendation, “Two Headed Calf” as it concisely deals with the wonder and miracle of being different. Even if it is only for a night. Click here to read the whole poem.
as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.
A Very Simple Wish by Nikki Giovanni
Finally, aside from our short poems that pack a punch, there are also the misleadingly simple and windingly long poems to adore. “A Very Simple Wish” is one of those, and the last one on our list of poetry recommendations! What is it that we wish for? Who is it that we wish those wishes for? And what does it mean to care for the world like one cares for themselves? These are the questions Giovanni deals with in what appears to be a simple, plain list of imageries that are warm and comforting. Really, they make you wish for a better world also. Now, it was quite hard to find a linkable version to this which is why we have have attached the entire poem for you below.
And that is all from us for now, folks! We hope that this gets some literary juices flowing for you. We also hope that you realize that poetry, prose and everything in between is lying right at your finger times- the right words won’t find you, you’ll have to find them.
