Poetry means much more than just using imagination and writing beautiful words.  Poetry also means living a helpful and compassionate life.  Poetry resides in the will to understand, the action of sharing, and the expression of social conscience.  Poetry displays artistic compassion for the world and its beings.  “Gentle Bridge” is a poetry technique that promotes community and stimulates the humanity within us.

Two Sides to the Poem

Every topic has two or more sides, but how often do we really consider different perspectives?  Media “facts” that come from wire services are almost always biased from the same perspective and with the same interests.  How often do wire services offer contrary opinions in their news?  Further, when we meet contrary opinions from friends or family, do we truly listen?  Do we truly hear?

This poetry exercise helps us be aware of opinions and attitudes that are in opposition to our own.  By writing a poem in this way, we become more sensitive to the opinions of others and learn to negotiate and compromise to find equitable common ground.

War is Peace

In George Orwell’s 1984, an official slogan of the government is “war is peace.”  In our own troubled times, many governments fulfill Orwell’s dire prediction and express a similar belief.  The tragic irony is that we may not know whether war or peace is the genuine goal.

The following exercise is not intended to demonstrate irony, but to find deeper understanding by moving away from extreme positions.  Try to discover a bridge that gently goes across opposite views.

Begin by writing one idea that you truly believe in line 1a at the top.  Next, write the opposite idea of your true belief in line 1b at the bottom.  As you write lines 2, 3 and 4, gradually soften the intensity of each belief.  Examine the following example about war and peace:

The common ground line of poetry can now be used as the thematic statement of the poem.  The theme of the poem is based on this gentle bridge.  Images of nature and weather are used to strengthen the ideas, as shown in the following example:

It takes great strength to bring peace

During the thunder of clapping hands

Let rain fall, but hold back bombs with all your strength

Dark skies lecture on national pride

Bright skies preach patience

Stand firm and calm the storm

Topics to Resolve

To begin writing your own poetry to express your social conscience, here are several topics to consider.  Write in two examples that you would like to resolve through the poetic process.

Poetic Search for Common Ground

Visualize

Once you have found common ground on the topic you want to resolve, practice visualizing images of your topic.  Give the ideas colour, shape, sound, smell, weather and movement.  Visualize the two ideas approaching each other as you write your poem.  Gradually soften the intensity of each colour and shape until your image itself is a blend of opposites.  When two opposite ideas meet, it may look like water and oil trying to blend.  The goal is to reach common ground successfully through words and images.

Finishing your Poem

You might want to share your poem with people who disagree with you.