☀️ Staying Power #179: "You Can do This" (reprise)

This matters more than you might realize

Published on occasional Sundays, Staying Power is one of the newsletters of The Raft, the online community of author Phyllis Cole-Dai. We Rafters ride the river of life buoyed by music, poetry, and other arts, plus water-drops of wisdom. Most everything here is free, but patrons (paid subscribers) get some special perks as a gesture of gratitude.

The following post originally appeared in slightly different form on October 22, 2023. All names have been changed.

Thank you for accepting these repostings of original material in lieu of new writings as I prepare to move from South Dakota to Maryland in early January.

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“I don’t think I can do this,” I told my friend Mary.

The two of us were meeting on Zoom to discuss a collaborative project. Before digging into business, we were checking in with each other.

Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how emotionally and physically drained I was. How weepy. How disconcerted by worry.

“I just can’t,” I said. “Not today. I don’t have the bandwidth.”

As it happened, Mary was struggling a bit, too. So we set aside our agenda. Over the next hour, we discussed what was weighing each of us down.

Then we began to read poems to each other.

Gradually, the sharing of those poems opened in Mary and me a more expansive, light-filled heart-space. By the time our Zoom visit concluded, we were both laughing. Nothing in the world had changed . . . except our own spirits.

That was enough.

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My friend Pat called me on the phone. She was having a tough time. Her landlord was refusing to do maintenance on her tiny apartment. Her personal budget was being squeezed to the limit. Her aging mother was facing serious health challenges. Her dysfunctional family was trying to meet those challenges with as much love as they could muster . . .

“You need to hear a poem,” I said, when Pat finally came up for air.

“I would love that,” she said.

I read her one poem. Then another . . .

The tone of our interaction turned. Toward resilience. Toward hope.

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Across the table sat my friend, Paul. He doesn’t consider himself a poet, but for some reason, on this day, he shyly offered to read to me a poem he’d recently written.

Once he finished, I asked with a smile if I could read the poem back to him.

His eyebrows shot up.

“Why?” he said.

I didn’t answer. Just held out my hand for the page.

Reaching the end of the poem, I looked at Paul. His eyes were wells of tears.

“I don’t think anybody has ever read me my own writing before,” he said. “I don’t know why, but it makes me emotional. Thank you.”

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These three episodes happened within a single week.

They reminded me, once again, that poetry matters—especially when read aloud.

The words of a poem being read aloud at the right moment, with the right spirit, can be comforting. Uplifting. Empowering.

What might matter most in the reading may not be the content of the poem, but rather the simple fact that someone would bother giving voice to it as an expression of care and affection. (A little like how a parent or grandparent might have done, long ago.)

A poem read aloud can matter more than a poem left on the page.

A poem read aloud can make all the difference.

Think now: Who in your life, at this moment, might benefit from hearing a poem read aloud by you?

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P. S. I had a heck of a time trying to find an image to accompany this post. So few images seem to exist of people reading to each other! Reading is portrayed largely as a solitary pursuit, except for adults reading to children.

Maybe we can remedy this?

I invite you to read a poem to someone you care about. Then, if that someone is agreeable, snap a picture of you together and send it to me via email (phyllis@phylliscoledai.com). I’ll create a photo gallery of Rafters Who Gift the Reading of Poems.

There is no expiration date on this invitation. Nor a limit on how many photos you can send me.

Let’s lend poetry our voices. For the sake of those people who need it.

The Gentle Nudge

• ANYTIME: Lay a blessing stone here. (Learn about our blessing-stone practice at this link.)

• THURSDAY: Poetry Pick-Me-Up (Zoom, 12:00-1:00PM Central, at this link)

• NEXT SUNDAY: “Calming the Heart” patron bash with James Crews (Zoom, December 15, 6PM CT). Details here.

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