I believe that reading a poem every day is a wonderful way to keep an underutilized part of the brain active everyday. Not everyone always flexes the creative and empathetic side of their brain often, and that’s what reading and internalizing a poem every day can do for you! I’ll be posting a poem here every day, so check back to get your daily literary stimulant!

Table of Contents

• Why is it Important to Read a Poem Every Day?
• Really though? A Poem EVERY Day?
• How can I Remember to Read a Poem Every Day?
• Sample Poem and what is Expected

Why is it Important to Read a Poem Every Day?

Poetry is important because it is a way for humans to understand the world around us. So often, we plod along in our everyday life without giving much thought to what happens outside of our personal bubble. Getting caught up in a routine like this is an easy thing to do. For many, society is structured in a way that limits their exposures and promotes what is familiar or what they already know. This common lifestyle can lead many to feelings of alienation with the outside world. New interactions and curiosity are at the forefront of human nature, and denying these experiences can lead to general angst towards our situation or ourselves. Even though for many people it may be challenging to explore and interact with the world around us, poetry can give us an avenue to invoke these feelings.

Through colorful words and thoughtful expressions, poetry is a way to experience new places and put yourself inside other people’s head. It serves as a connection between you and the poet. In that moment of taking in the poem, you are experiencing how the poet themselves feel or felt in a certain fragment of time. It helps us to understand either that the world is full of new experiences and emotions that we have never encountered, or that someone has experienced the same or very similar emotion that I have. In this facet, it shows that poems can be both broad and enlightening, by teaching new experiences, or surprisingly intimate, as two strangers connect in a moment of shared emotion. This duality of poetry is why it is important to take the time to stop and reflect upon a new poem every day.

Really though? A Poem EVERY Day?

Yes, a poem EVERY day. Everyday routines help to build good habits. You already see this a lot with other aspects of everyday routines. For starters, people shower and brush their teeth everyday. Obviously I’m being a little pedantic here, but routines like showering and brushing your teeth are done for a reason, to keep your physical body clean and healthy. There are plenty of other kinds of routines that have permeated into the culture zeitgeist which focus on more mental health however, which is more in the ball park of daily poems. People will often do small, mental tasks like a puzzle everyday. One popular daily puzzle trend you see right now is Wordle. Puzzles like these help to keep the brain sharp and exercise memory and problem solving skills in a fun way. So if showering is a physical routine to stay clean, and puzzles are a mental routine to stay aid long-term memory, what does reading a poem every day help with?

Poems add to or reinforce what I call our “emotive vocabulary”, sometimes without having to experience these emotions first hand. Poems can induce joy, grief, sorrow or countless other emotions, broadening a normal days spectrum of what can be more mundane emotions. Having an extensive “emotive vocabulary” helps when speaking with others, as being empathetic and understanding how someone is feeling is key to a healthy conversation. Not only that, but a well versed “emotive vocabulary” will assist in personal reflection and being able to better understand your emotions and how/why you are feeling a certain way. Taking anywhere from five to ten minutes from your day to read, interpret, re-read, and then personally contextualize a single poem every day will help to expand your “emotive vocabulary” and bring you closer to the surrounding world.

How can I Remember to Read a Poem Every Day?

Saying you are going to implement a routine in your everyday life and actually executing the routine are two very different beasts. Some people often struggle with remembering to follow a routine. After you miss a day or two, it can begin to compound and cause you to miss multiple other days in the future. In order to set a routine like reading a poem every day, follow these simple pieces of advice to stay focused and build up your muscle memory.

1. Set a reminder on your phone

Many people have smartphones now a days, whether that be an iPhone, Samsung, or something else. All these phones have wonderful reminder apps that allow you to set personalized reminders as notifications. Simply use the app and set “Read Poem” as a recurring reminder every day at preferred time, and a notification will pop up at the same time every day. A normal time to set the reminder would be in the morning before work, a small scheduled break time at work, or late at night after work. Some people even set multiple reminders if they are busy at work and often cannot always uphold their end of the deal. This allows you to get reminded at home after work if you miss it earlier.

2. Bookmark this page on your browser

Whether it be this blog or another, bookmark whatever site you get your poems from every day on your frequently used browser. Being able to quickly get to the poem is an important part of building a good routine. You don’t want anything to hinder you when or make it harder when you are training your brain for a routine. Also, having the website displayed on your bookmarks every time you open the browser may help to inspire you or remind you to visit it, especially if you are not one for reminders.

3. Reward yourself for staying on track

When trying to start a routine and form a habit, it is important to reinforce yourself with positive feedback. If you wish to participate in reading a poem every day, I’m sure you already like the idea of taking a little time out of your day to do so. However, it can be even easier to remember when you are accompany it with a reward for hitting your daily goal or weekly goal. This can be different for different people. For some, maybe sitting down and enjoying a small sweet treat during the poetry reading is a way to encourage yourself to do it. For others, taking a break outside and sitting in the cool breeze. Whatever motivates you will help inspire you to stay on top of your daily poetry reading!

Sample Poem and what is Expected

I’ve attached one of my poems to show you what you can expect from daily poems to be posted on here. The date, title, and author are posted above the poem, with a little piece about the poem and what I think about it below. This is to help get your thoughts flowing. Feel free to respond to the poems on the blog if they make you feel a particular way, that’s the idea of it! If you are unfamiliar with how to read and analyze poetry, here is a great resource from poets.org.

April 4, 2022 – Statues – Ben Abraham

Beautiful faces

Etched in stone

While you keep my company

I am alone

~

Absent audience

Ears of granite

I know you’re not listening

But please understand it

~

Silent companions

Motionless lips

Like a play missing players

Empty scripts

Ben Abraham

This piece has a very somber tone to it. It paints a picture of a beautiful garden of statues, a lovely site to behold with unmatched beauty, who wouldn’t want to hang out in a place like this? However if you stay here all the time, you’d realize that the statues are really just pretty pieces of stone, they can’t replace a good friend. The poem draws a comparison between a certain crowd of people you can find yourself with and these gorgeous statues. Both are wonderful on the outside and at surface level, but at the end of the day they won’t really talk back with you when you need it the most. It can feel like you’re talking to a brick wall, or maybe even a statue. The point I get from this piece is to make sure you surround yourself with true companions, don’t be fooled too quickly by how something may appear on the surface level. Let me know how this piece makes you guys feel!