for Marlee Grace, my soul mate in the work of poetic healing When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. —MARY OLIVER Contents INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1BE IN AWE OF EVERYTHING EXERCISE FOR FINDING AWE Close Your Eyes and Point in Any Direction WRITING PRACTICE How to Make a Poem Out of Awe POETIC MINDSET TIP Your Awe Can Be Connective CHAPTER 2MAKE MEANING EXERCISE FOR MAKING MEANING Pick Up a Commonplace Object and Give It Meaning WRITING PRACTICE Create Your Personal Mythology POETIC MINDSET TIP Keep Your Meaning Up to Date CHAPTER 3EXPLORE YOUR PURPOSE EXERCISE FOR EXPLORING PURPOSE Discover the Purpose of Your Favorite Writers WRITING PRACTICE Create a Poem of Purpose POETIC MINDSET TIP Hold On to Your Purpose All Day Long CHAPTER 4SHARE YOUR ANSWERS EXERCISE FOR SHARING Read Aloud to Others and Share Your Work WRITING PRACTICE How to Edit Your Work for Sharing POETIC MINDSET TIP Let Accessibility Be the Inspiration in All Communication CHAPTER 5USE YOUR SENSES EXERCISE FOR THE SENSES Heighten and Appreciate Your Senses WRITING PRACTICE Bring at Least One Sense into Every Poem POETIC MINDSET TIP Sharpen Your Senses and Hone Your Awareness CHAPTER 6USE YOUR PAIN EXERCISE FOR MAKING PAIN USEFUL Find the Source WRITING PRACTICE How to Write a Healing Poem POETIC MINDSET TIP Your Pain Is a Seed for Growth CHAPTER 7USE YOUR MEMORIES EXERCISE FOR MEMORY Think of All You’ve Done and Let It Wow You WRITING PRACTICE Create Your Timeline POETIC MINDSET TIP Learn How to Appreciate the Past CHAPTER 8USE YOUR JOY EXERCISE FOR JOY Make a Ritual of Joy WRITING PRACTICE Write a Celebratory Poem POETIC MINDSET TIP Find Joy Everywhere CHAPTER 9LISTENING TO THE POETIC UNIVERSE EXERCISES FOR LISTENING TO THE UNIVERSE How to Take Care So You Can Hear It WRITING PRACTICE What Are You Asking For? What Path Is Already Open? POETIC MINDSET TIP The Power in Making Poetic Mantras CHAPTER 10PERMISSION TO BE A POET EXERCISES FOR BEING A POET Give Yourself the Tools WRITING PRACTICE Find a Routine and Show Up for It POETIC MINDSET TIP Everything Is a Poem; Don’t Worry About the Outcome CHAPTER 11RESOURCES AND RECOMMENDED READING AFTERWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS POEM SOURCES ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALSO BY JACQUELINE SUSKIN ABOUT SOUNDS TRUE COPYRIGHT introduction I am doing something I learned early to do, I am paying attention to small beauties. —SHARON OLDS How do humans deal with the heavi ness of everyday ft living? How do we keep going when everything is so hard, sad, and infuriating? We’re surrounded by hate, injustice, death, and destruction—how do we sift through the anguish and enjoy being alive? MY ANSWER IS, POETRY. What would it be like to find inspiration everywhere you look? It’s a sacred challenge to mine the wonder out of every day, out of trauma and pain, out of the mundane. This is what poetry does for us. No, it isn’t a magic wand that vanishes all atrocity. But it does make humanity reappear; it brings beauty out of the shadow, back to the surface, making it accessible. Poetry is a guide, a teacher, providing reminders on how incredible it is to be alive at all, even when it hurts. The poetic mind is a grateful one; it’s a mind that celebrates the miracle of being. The poetic mind is moody, and it digs its heels into these moods, pulling out the best and worst of feelings in the name of discovery, in the name of the shared human condition. The poetic mind shines a light on its uniqueness and its specialized way of coping with grief or anger. The strength of this mind is that it can turn any experience into one of worth, into something meaningful, into an answer or a gift of clarity. When Allen Ginsberg wrote Howl, he tuned into the travesty of America in 1955, exposing the nuance of mental illness, connecting the dots between this sickness and the state of the country: I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix . . . This poem became an anthem as it brought out a new language to describe something so dark, painful, and prevalent. That’s why Howl still sticks with us. Like all influential artworks, it displays a mind in touch with the greater picture, a mind that is willing to overflow with gratitude and wonder, while at the same time remaining skeptical and critical of society, war, and greed. Similar in reach, Mary Oliver’s famous poem “Wild Geese” remains impactful as it explores a universal permission to move through pain into awe by way of curiosity, acceptance, and a celebration of the intricate details that connect us all. Her words help us circle back to our innate imaginative power, a human quality that is available, all-inclusive, and reliably healing: Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination. This is my purpose as a poet, to write reminders that help us identify with our place in the universe, on this perfect planet that we call home. I’ve always been a poet, filling notebooks with cryptic verse before I really even knew how to write properly. It’s the way that my brain processes my experience. I even got a degree in poetry. From 2009-2019, my project Poem Store was my only job, and it enabled me to write more than forty thousand poems for strangers. I set up with my typewriter at private and public events, writing for patrons who chose a subject and a price in exchange for a unique poem that I wrote on the spot. This practice allowed me to explore the human condition in a way that I never dreamed possible. I’ve heard humanity’s deepest secrets and traumas, I’ve listened to the most wonderful expressions of love and elation, I’ve witnessed intense confusion and beautiful awe—only to translate it all into poetry. When my customers saw themselves on the page, something happened. My words offered a reflection, a moment of deep knowing, and I provided written proof that they weren’t alone, that they were seen and heard. This work is transformative and healing for people, and that’s how I’ve been able to make my living as a poet in the
