Yesterday, I shared a little about the Poetry as a Healing Art series that began this week as part of The Stafford Challenge. You can still sign up (registration is free) for the remaining sessions here at this link. Dr. Deborah E. Grayson led us in some prompts on Tuesday evening to inspire writing as therapy. One was a soundtrack of our lives, which I wrote about yesterday, and today I’ll share three more inspiring ideas from Tuesday evening’s session.
Dr. Grayson asked us to consider where we find healing and to write about those places in response to the “salty times” of our lives – such as divorce, death or illness of a loved one, or loss of a beloved pet. Many people responded that in addition to poetry, healing is found in scripture, in reading books, in art, in nature/gardening, and in playing or walking with pets. I agree with all of those and would add coffee and conversation with friends and loved ones as well. I love travel and seeing new places and parts of the world and find that travel often offers new perspectives that can bring healing.
She also inspired us to create a Prescription for Loneliness. My first go-to is reading. I find that when I read, I’m keeping company with characters and authors. My book club sisters and I meet each month to talk about our reading, and that’s a lovely time shared with others! Getting outside with my dogs also keeps me in good company when my husband is at work and would be #2 on my prescription list. I shouldn’t admit this, but Hallmark movies somehow make me feel like I’m a nicer person, and those have a medicinal effect on loneliness too. Grayson explained that all of these items on our brainstormed lists can be used in poetry, such as list poetry.
Finally, our concluding activity was to spend a few moments and write a list poem. We could use our Prescription for Loneliness ideas, our Playlist of our Life ideas, our places we find healing, or we could write one like poet Andrea Gibson made in the days before she died after a long battle with Ovarian Cancer in July 2025. Her poem was entitled A List of Things that Don’t Suck, to Make Your Day a Little Brighter. I’ll begin my own list with 3 that come to mind:
Things that Don’t Suck
A rescued dog who rolls belly-up in the grass, kicking his legs toward the sky in happiness in the autumn sunshine and you think you see him stop for a second to offer you a smile of gratitude.
A playlist of great songs made especially for you in retirement, sent to you by your daughter.
Retirement.
