Welcome to Poetry for Processing!
For all those on a healing journey who read and/or write poetry for expression and processing
We invite you to contribute
Maasai Woman by Laura Howat I saw you crest the gold flecked slope Billowing tall grass The sun setting on the Serengeti plains below Weighed down by gathered wood stacked on your back Leather security strap band Across perfect round forehead black Fine facial features shaved hair Brilliant white smile you shared Adorned dangling beaded ears Dazzling neck rings Slender woman shape Bright orange magenta royal kanga cape Walking to your village tribe Round huts timber sides Lattice branches thatched roof Covered in dried mud Herd of goats and cattle nearby chewing cud Tended by boys Nostalgic beauty of pastoral lifestyle Until invited in and fantasy destroyed Smoky dung fires No water ditch toilets children covered in flies Husband working on additional wives Can have up to fifteen but each costs a cow Bought exorbitantly-priced beadwork to support I vow I won’t forget you or the difference in our lives
Weatherman Lover by Laura Howat Power out, tattered roof, trees down Debris of receding storm Weatherman says nothing but blue skies ahead Bright sunny days balmy warm Charming optimism brilliant toothy smile smile smile Crisp tight fitting suit polka dot tie Style style style My wind was roaring ripping ripping ripping Taut outstretched flags whipping whipping whipping Assaulted eyes dusty gritty pollen Microburst knocks me flat I’m falling Low pressure sucks skitter across dirt Grab branch snaps like a broken promise and hurt Ditch landing cower for cover cover cover Let go dream of weatherman lover Morning dawns calm Massage brush-burned palms Pick scraps of grass and twigs from hair Look to sky now fair
Welcome to Poetry for Processing! Poetry can be an effective tool for those of us on a healing journey. For some of us with childhood trauma that happened when our brains were young and immature, we can’t always process through an adult lens and turn the experience into an understandable story. Poetry can be short, expressive, immediate, primal, visceral and unstructured. Poetry is also a tool we can use to connect with others. Please join me in contributing poems that chronicle a healing journey, whether you are a recreational poet, a hack or polished, I welcome you so that others can appreciate your expression and know they are not alone.