Stimulating Activities for Seniors Series: Writing Poetry

Engaging in creative activities brings a variety of health benefits for seniors – both physical and mental – and that is certainly true for the creative art of poetry. Studies show that poetry lowers stress and anxiety, wards off depression, and even improves memory. 

Poetry’s popularity boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as is often the case in times of crisis. Even before the pandemic, poetry was becoming increasingly popular, according to a survey by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Not sure where to start? You’re in the right place! By the time you’re finished reading this blog, you will have written not one, but two, poems. You can refer back to this article anytime as a guide for practicing this powerful creative outlet. 

Gather Materials and Set the Mood.

Locate a piece of paper and a pen or pencil, and feel free to play some music that relaxes or inspires you! This YouTube channel has some wonderful instrumental playlists.

Relax and let go of self-judgment.

Poetry doesn’t have to be perfect and it certainly doesn’t have to rhyme. In fact, it has no rules at all. Like all art, poetry is subjective. Poems written honestly and with authenticity are always best.

Write a Haiku.

Let’s start with a Haiku. Haiku is fun and easy to write. At its simplest, a Haiku is a poem containing seventeen syllables ordered in three lines. The first line contains five syllables, the second contains seven, and the third contains five. 

This is the structure of a Haiku:

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _

Call to mind the question, such as, what makes your home beautiful? Hopefully, you have a few ideas. Now think of a sentence or phrase with five syllables. Think of another with seven syllables, and then another with five syllables. Don’t worry about making it perfect, the best poetry comes from the heart.

You can also look at your surroundings for inspiration, or visit a place you love either in person or in your mind. Here’s an example: 

The creek runs softly

It leaps and tumbles downstream

The ancient trees sigh

Take a second and read back what you’ve written. Then if you want, give it a tweak or two. Feel free to write a second or a third Haiku if you’ve got more to write about. 

Write a simple, four-line poem.

Let’s write another poem. This time, we’ll work on a simple, four-line poem. To begin, think of four emotions that you are feeling right now. Whatever is in your heart is valid, be it positive or negative.

You might feel Anger, Empathy, Patience, Calm, Gratitude, Respectfulness, Dignity, Fear, Creativity, Hope, Happiness, Love, Bravery, or Loss. Let your feelings come naturally.

Each of your four lines will be an acknowledgment of one of your four emotions. This is where the fun starts. Your poem can be long or short. It might use a metaphor. It might not! You don’t need to use rhyme, although you can if you’d like. Don’t overthink it!

Here’s an example using the emotions Calm, Gratitude, Joy and Love.

The swallow CALMly watched the world, from oaken
branches high

She tweeted thanks and GRATITUDE for each cloud
that passed by

A JOYful blaze grew in her heart and bloomed to
quite illume the dark

For all of us can start right now to LOVE and
love again.

Don’t worry if your poem doesn’t meet the standard in your head. In fact, if you feel comfortable, do away with that standard entirely! Most of our inner criticisms were put in us a long time ago by people who were insecure. “Good” is a value judgment, but beauty is a statement of fact. It doesn’t matter what you wrote; it is beautiful, whatever it is, because it is you!

Now that you’ve begun writing you might find it hard to stop. Whenever you feel like it, come back to these exercises and write something new. 

We’re all learning more about ourselves each and every day, and making art by putting our thoughts on paper is a great way to sort through our daily noise and find truth in the world within and around us.