Poets, Flowers and Connections by Christine Cleave

 

                                                                                                                                    

Why do we feel compelled to write? To give insights into someone else’s world, e.g. by writing stories set in another culture? To persuade people to change their point of view? To share a vision? Or perhaps we are fascinated by human behaviour, or - quite simply - enjoy creating a great story? Whatever writing we do, we will really want to make it convincing, so will need to make the ideas in it joined up, in other words, make good connections between them.

I’m spending a lot of time pondering John’s gospel at the moment and constantly marvel at its coherence. He wove the things that Jesus said and did together in to his narrative, carefully making theological connections, so the book he produced ‘feels’ very spiritual.

In this blog, I want to share some ideas about spiritual connections in relation to journaling and poetry.

Journaling was the way I learnt to process the emotions evoked by what was happening around me, especially in difficult times. Trying my hand at poetry soon followed and this revealed my affective side to me. I believe that we nurture our soul whenever we write creatively and it changes us. The poem ‘I praise the tender flower’ by Robert Bridges¹ gave me some insights into the therapeutic effect that writing can have on us.

Bridges describes finding a frost-covered rose in the garden in winter, just like the one on this page, and in writing a poem about it he experiences a small inner transformation. He describes the joy of coming across a rose bravely blooming in the middle of winter. He is mourning over unrequited love, but the rose’s ‘loveliness’ comforts his ‘tormented’ heart.

In the garden he meets a ‘gentle maid whose happy voice and smile’ cheers his downcast spirits, ‘giving it fresh wings for soaring’. Though he must keep silence about his love, there is relief in putting his thoughts into his poem.

Here’s the thing I find fascinating: The poet juxtaposes two opposite emotions - his sadness at a lost love with his response to the beautiful flower he is holding. The concluding words, ‘So in my song I bind them for all to find them’, refers his creatively ‘tying’ these feelings together. As he writes the verses, he is simultaneously processing and combining these sweet and bitter emotions together and bringing into being something new:  a more philosophical attitude. At last, he becomes able to praise both the ‘tender flower’ and the maid, in thankfulness for both encounters. His transformation comes about because he is able to process his joyful experience in the garden, by writing about it.

I found these thoughts prompted by the poem encouraging and so wanted to share them with you. When we are inspired to write wholeheartedly, there is a sort of alchemy at work which is healing both to the person articulating their thoughts on paper and which is communicated to our readers. Perhaps this contributes to what gives writers a buzz?

1.      Set to music by Gerald Finzi, so can be found on this site: genius.com

 

Christine Cleave is a retired physics teacher, who is busy making the transition from science nerd to would-be author. She enjoys singing in a chamber choir, painting    and giving spiritual direction.