A poem a day:
Two years recorded in verse.
Continue or pause?
—
I have written a poem every single day for two years. I think it’s fair to say they’ve been varied both in topic and in quality. I have found my daily poetry writing to be incredibly therapeutic and am currently writing a book commissioned by Jessica Kingsley Publishers provisionally titled “Using Poetry to Promote Talking and Healing” which will feature over 100 of my poems for exploration in a therapeutic setting as well as ideas for encouraging the writing of poetry as a means of working through difficult issues.
I am ambivalent about whether to continue writing a daily poem or whether it’s time to pick up a new daily project. Part of me struggles to imagine foregoing the ten minutes I spend each day winding down as I purge my thoughts into poems, part of me fears I will soon run out of words…
What do you think?
Pooky's Poems 
I personally absolutely love reading your poems every day, but I don’t want you to feel under pressure to have to write daily. Maybe if you feel you will run out of things to write about, you could change it to weekly rather than daily? But you have to do what’s right for you. Xxx
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Strangely I’ve always liked having daily tasks – I used to blog daily and then I did a daily photo journal and now the poems – I find it harder to find time for stuff if I don’t do it every day, it’s just such a strange habit that I feel like I should stop?!?!
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Oh and thank you for your kind words – I’m finding your book a beautiful but heart wrenching read. There’s a lot of pain in there xxxx
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If those ten minutes are something you kinda look forward to, a time to stop and unwind, if you find it beneficial – why stop? There are lots of other things you *could* do, but only if you find one that appeals. I’m in awe that you’ve written every single day for two years. I can’t even take a single snapshot picture a day at the moment!
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Thank you – I usually write whilst Ellie is falling asleep. If I didn’t write a poem I’d probably just be mucking around on my phone at that point to be honest so maybe I will continue. It is just such a strange habit. The funny thing is that because I write them all so fast and usually whilst so relaxed as I’ve been soothing Ellie and have the lights dimmed and her calming music on, when I reread them I often feel like they were written by someone else and don’t recognise my own writing. It’s most odd.
I am in awe of the many different things you produce too for what it’s worth. You are one clever and creative Mama. xxx
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That’s when I’ve found my thoughts drifting to poetry – while one or the other of the boys is falling asleep 🙂 it’s definitely strangely relaxing and stops me mindlessly browsing! Jack of all trades and master of none is how I often feel – one day I’ll put thr energy into being Really Good at something 🙂 x x
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I don’t see you that way at all. I think you’re a talented artistic chameleon x
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Like Angharad I love reading your poems. Sometimes they move me to tears or a comment. Some days I read & pass on. I would love you to keep writing them but they are not mine. They are yours. If they help, I will keep reading. If you have something else to do in those 10 minutes I will understand!
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I really don’t! They pass the time and bookend my day whilst Ellie falls asleep. They are quite a good way for me to pass from either a good or a bad day into a calmer evening time with Tom. I try to end each day calmly and positively and sometimes the poems help with that. They also often help Tom to gauge my mood. He reads them every day now, I think he wishes he’d done so sooner, I especially recall writing the one about the tree who couldn’t and think that it was a pretty clear indicator of where things were headed which we both missed.
I hope you are having a good day today Julia xxx
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nds like they are staying! Yay! Day ok.
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Sounds!
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Keep writing your poetry and work on a new project. You can just not do it daily but once a week.The choice is yours. I like reading your poems.
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I enjoy reading your poems, there are so many insights that you share with us, your readers. You have to do what’s best for you, but I can’t see you running out of ideas any time soon.
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If the writing period is of benefit Pooky then keep at it….I guess it doesn’t always have to be poetry but using it to unwind is such a good thing to do. Have a great day.
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Change to a new daily task – if one presents itself in a way that interests you more. Otherwise, keep poeming. If one day you do run out of poetic words, then you will have already made a huge achievement and touched so many people in so many ways over that time! xx
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Please do! I look forward to reading them, I relate to so many or they make me see things in a different light. I don’t look forward to a lot but I look forward to your daily poem
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What a wonderful thing to say! Thank you x
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