As
an emerging poet, I understand too well the power that permeates poetry. I have
written several poems whose words carry the weight of my thoughts and which have
articulated more about my feelings on paper than I ever could in speech. Lorna
Goodison’s poem, ‘Some of My Worst Wounds’, echoes my sentiments. Though short,
the poem lends itself to a lengthy discourse on the fluidity of poetry.
Below,
I will share several thought-provoking points about the poem ‘Some of My Worst Wounds’.
- This poem falls into the category of metapoetry. This is where the poem focuses on the act of writing poetry.
- Goodison uses this poem to explore the power that lies in writing poetry.
- Writing poetry has the power to provide poets release from pain, betrayal and disappointment. In the act of selecting words and establishing form or structure, poetry give poets the opportunity to give voice to their personal battles..
- By voicing their concerns or limitations, they are able to unload their burdens and conquer them. This is why Goodison declares that some of her worst wounds ‘have healed into poems’.
- In her review of Goodison’s ‘Selected Poems’, Ayme Almendarez highlights that the poet uses the poem to explain ‘the curative properties of her poetry’. It is clear that poetry is more than words skillfully arranged in lines and stanzas. As a genre, poetry is a powerful antidote. In the poem, a ‘few well-placed stabs in the back’ and ‘a carry down’ have led to poems that function as the means to rise above the trauma of these experiences. The poems are deliberately crafted to counter the deliberate attempts to undermine the poet.
- Another interesting feature of poetry is that it does not only function as a healing agent for poets but for those who come in contact with them. This means that by sharing the words of their poems, poets give their listeners or readers the chance to heal some of their worst wounds as well. In the Gleaner article, ‘Potent Words, Unique Voices’ Dr. Anthea Morrison also affirms the ‘subversive or persuasive [power] of the word’. Poetry has such scribal authority that it gives poets the role of voicing the dilemma of those who would otherwise live in silence.
Overall,
this poem reveals that, though wounded, we can find our healing by penning or
reading a few poems. It is an insightful poem that reveals the potency that
lies within poetry.
References
Goodison, L. Selected
Poems, USA: The University of Michigan Press. (1992).
Almendarez, A.
Voices from the Gap (2009). Retrieved from https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/167838/Review%20Selected%20Poems.pdf;sequence=1
Morrison, A. Potent
Words, Unique Voices (2017). Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/art-leisure/20171126/potent-words-unique-voices
