Volunteers and The Poetry Peddler with Ellna Silver behind the camera.
October 18, 2011 - Bravo and shine on, y'all!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Poetry In-Service for Tidelands Volunteers
What a delight to spend a Tuesday morning with volunteers at Tidelands Hospice, reading poems and encouraging the use of poetry. It was a joy and an honor to be in the company of these impressive women and their amazing leader, Ellna Silver. They each have the Poetry Peddler's respect and admiration for who they are and what they do.
Volunteers and The Poetry Peddler with Ellna Silver behind the camera.
October 18, 2011 - Bravo and shine on, y'all!
Volunteers and The Poetry Peddler with Ellna Silver behind the camera.
October 18, 2011 - Bravo and shine on, y'all!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sharing the Power of Poetry
The Poetry Peddler soon will be taking poetry to some Hospice volunteers, hoping they will choose to share poems with clients, families, staff, and other volunteers. Maybe with their own families.
I will tell them the story of my friend Cathy. She had cancer and was weary from fighting it. I sensed she was ready to leave the physical world.
Her husband called to ask another mutual friend and me to visit Cathy at their home. Not long before our visit, I thought of taking a few poems along, and I followed the impulse. I took Mary Oliver's Wild Geese, another poem or two I'm not remembering at the moment, and my poem, Snow Lesson. I had written the poem with Cathy in mind on a rare snowy day in the South Carolina Lowcountry. It's a poem about letting go.
When we arrived, it was obvious that Cathy was extremely weak. I felt she was glad we were sitting at her bedside, but she was not up to conversation. We said a few things that required minimal to no response, and I covered her hand with mine for a little while. Then I told her I'd brought a few poems if she'd like me to read them. She affirmed the idea with a nod, and I began to read. As I read, her face began to relax; there was the hint of a smile, and her breathing seemed easier.
When it felt like the right time to go. I said I would come back, but that next time maybe I would leave the poems at home. She made a great effort to speak, managing a barely-audible whisper:
Bring. poems.
Two days later Cathy left this world. The visit that day was something I treasured. I was glad to have seen her and glad to have taken the poems. It had felt like the right thing to do, sharing on a deep level that demanded no back and forth. The poems created a peaceful intimacy; they "said it all" for us, reader and listeners. I hope the Hospice volunteers and staff will want share poems with clients who want to listen. And I hope these generous volunteers who give so much to others will be able to give themselves the gift of poetry.
I will tell them the story of my friend Cathy. She had cancer and was weary from fighting it. I sensed she was ready to leave the physical world.
Her husband called to ask another mutual friend and me to visit Cathy at their home. Not long before our visit, I thought of taking a few poems along, and I followed the impulse. I took Mary Oliver's Wild Geese, another poem or two I'm not remembering at the moment, and my poem, Snow Lesson. I had written the poem with Cathy in mind on a rare snowy day in the South Carolina Lowcountry. It's a poem about letting go.
When we arrived, it was obvious that Cathy was extremely weak. I felt she was glad we were sitting at her bedside, but she was not up to conversation. We said a few things that required minimal to no response, and I covered her hand with mine for a little while. Then I told her I'd brought a few poems if she'd like me to read them. She affirmed the idea with a nod, and I began to read. As I read, her face began to relax; there was the hint of a smile, and her breathing seemed easier.
When it felt like the right time to go. I said I would come back, but that next time maybe I would leave the poems at home. She made a great effort to speak, managing a barely-audible whisper:
Bring. poems.
Two days later Cathy left this world. The visit that day was something I treasured. I was glad to have seen her and glad to have taken the poems. It had felt like the right thing to do, sharing on a deep level that demanded no back and forth. The poems created a peaceful intimacy; they "said it all" for us, reader and listeners. I hope the Hospice volunteers and staff will want share poems with clients who want to listen. And I hope these generous volunteers who give so much to others will be able to give themselves the gift of poetry.
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