April Is National Poetry Month (Let’s Talk About: Family Poetry)

April is National Poetry Month! And today, we’ll discuss the poetry theme of family.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve already enjoyed seeing poets in my network highlighting their most cherished poems and powering through daily poetry challenges this month.

One of my favorite poets, Ada Limón (U.S. Poet Laureate), shared the following poem by Emily Dickinson.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

The poem’s themes of compassion and kindness tie in well with today’s topic of family.

Of course, we have the biological families we’re born into, but when I reflect on what it feels like to have family and who is part of that family, I often think of those steady individuals in my life with whom I share reciprocal empathy and compassion.

Our families and “found” families give us constant opportunities to practice kindness, to extend acts of service. If my desire is to make the world a better place, I can start by holding the hearts of my family members. I can put my found family into their nests, mend their wings, help them fly.

And no one can entirely protect us from broken hearts and all the pain involved in being human, but being there for our family members to buttress them through their weakest points is what makes this idea of family so profound. It’s debatably not a requirement to help them, even though it may be an expectation. And that’s why it’s all the more powerful when we choose to wrap our arms around our families. When we add nonbiological members to our circle. When we do what we can to ease the pain of our parents or siblings or cousins. When we bolster our closest friends.

Our families give us endless reasons and opportunities not to “live in vain,” as Dickinson writes. And during this National Poetry Month, I hope you take a moment to explore family poetry. And I hope it grants you encouragement and gratitude for all of those people whose souls are most closely attached to your own.

If you haven’t already, take a peek at my chapbook. It certainly falls under this topic of family poetry. As always, feel free to leave a comment or send a message if you’d like to chat on the subject!

Happy National Poetry Month. 🙂