Poetry is an important source of feelings, ideas and concepts that have been created and collected over hundred of years. Many people turn to poetry for inspiration, entertainment, and understanding themselves. This column looks at poetry as a way of recognizing the deepest values and principles in our lives.
Read a variety of Poems
The more poetry you read, the greater benefit you receive. Reading a variety of poems helps you see yourself from many different perspectives. Increase your sensitivity to poetry by reading regularly from a wide range of poets. Make a list of poets that you respect, and write down quotes from your favourite poems. This surveys your appreciation of poetry, and helps you discover your own poetic values and tastes. Collect impressive and inspirational quotes in your poetry journal to guide you in your life.
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Poet |
Poem and Quote |
Values |
|
D. H Lawrence |
Work: There is no point in work / unless it absorbs you / like an absorbing game…When the Hindus weave thin wool into long, long lengths of stuff / with their thin dark hands and their wide dark eyes and their still souls absorbed / they are like slender trees putting forth leaves, a long white web of living leaf, / the tissue they weave / and they clothe themselves in white as a tree clothes itself in its own foliage |
We must deeply love and become our work. Work reveals our true selves. This helps me recognize the most suitable career choice for me. |
|
Dylan Thomas |
The force that through the green fuse drives the flower / Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees / Is my destroyer |
The world of nature is similar to my own human passion. Energy creates me and destroys me. This gives me great respect for nature. |
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e.e. cummings |
You shall above all things be glad and young: I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing / Than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance |
He deeply values learning from nature. This teaches him the beauty of life. This inspires me to help my students as much as possible. |
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Czeslaw Milosz |
Incantation: Human reason is beautiful and invincible / No bars, no barbed wire, no pulping of books, / No sentence of banishment can prevail against it. |
He praises the importance of human reason overcoming injustice, censorship and oppression. This gives me courage to speak up for justice. |
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Emily Dickinson |
This Dust, and its Feature -- / Accredited – Today -- / Will in a second Future -- / Cease to identify |
She shows me that life will one day be nothing but dust. She helps me see that I should not take myself too seriously. |
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Your favourite poet |
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Deduce the Values in each Poem
After you’ve listed your favourite poets and quotes from their most impressive poems, determine the personal values in each poem. Identify the lesson that the poem teaches you and why this is important to you. As your collection of quotes expands, observe patterns and trends that reveal your deepest human values.
Your own Values
The next step in the development of a young poet is to transfer the love of poetry towards the love of life. Brainstorm a list of personal and social values that are important to you. That means to put each value into action. In the chart below, write down how you can practice and develop your important values. Finally, write a poem about each value and how you make it a central part of your life.
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Value |
Develop the Value in your Life |
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1. Sharing |
1. I donated many books to the home for orphan children. Then, I read some stories to the kids. |
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2. |
2. |
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3. Respect |
3. I try to stop arguing with my parents and to listen carefully to what they tell me. When I disagree, I do it very respectfully. |
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4. |
4. |
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5. Love |
5. |
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6. |
6. |
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7. Patience |
7. |
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8. |
8. |
Personal Statement