I have to admit, poetry wasn’t an art I was into until this pandemic hit. I remember studying it for my exams in secondary school but that was it. I just didn’t get it.
Well. Talk about what I was missing. Maybe its getting older, life experience, sadness in our world, heightened emotions: but it really has been a means of comfort to me throughout COVID. Have you found comfort through this art?
Learning all about the art, writing my own poetry and reading from many great poets; transports me right back to familiar, relatable places while bursting with imagery and power.
Seamus Heaney’s Blackberry-Picking
Oh what poet doesn’t like Seamus Heaney? When I first started writing and reading poetry (during COVID) I started reading an anthology with a collection of his greatest poems ( I remember studying a few at school).
He was such a beautiful and talented poet; and could really hit the five senses in such a powerful way.
Blackberry-Picking:
Being from the country in Ireland this poem just transports me back to that place of innocence during my childhood – where you would run through those fields picking those juicy blackberries from those bushes.Children just loved to run wild with anything they could find, in order to collect those blackberries. Living near my grandparents farm and even his description of the bath in the byre (you country folk will know this well)
Finding comfort through poetry during COVID
The pandemic has been difficult for you and I. We’re lived through something we could never have imagined. Connecting through poetry if its writing or reading some of the greats, has really opened my eyes and tapped into the emotions in such a powerful way when you let yourself ‘feel’ and get lost in those words.
Some of the greatest poems have been written through the hardest of times. Does this tell us that poetry isn’t dead, but is very much alive?
I’m so thankful I connected with poetry throughout the pandemic as a therapeutic outlet and is part of my life now going forward.
What poem/poet do you like that takes you down memory lane in the country?
Thank you for reading my post and have a beautiful day, reading some wonderful poetry!
Bernie Egerton Coaching 
4 replies on “Poetry as comfort: Seamus Heaney and that wonderful poem Blackberry-Picking!”
Aaah love that Bernie! Yes, I’ve absolutely found comfort in poetry, I always have. I’ve never fallen for Seamus Heaney like so many others have though so I’m glad you shared this poem, it’s a juicy one! (no pun intended) I guess my go-to is always Kahlil Gibran and Rumi though there’s so many contemporary poets I adore at the moment! 💕☀️
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Thank you Sunra 💗 I’ve been reading so many great poets and more recent ones too. There really is so many to name! Its a beautiful and powerful comfort 💖
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I’m glad for you that you found poetry- it’s never too late to discover something new! I have a pen pal in Italy; she is 80 and just discovered poetry last year.
It’s not so much memory lane, but I adore Robert frost. And Edgar Allen poe, with his famous Annabelle Lee and the lesser known Conqueror Worm.
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Poetry really is beautiful and I’m so thankful I discovered it as a release; during a time of crisis in our world🙏. Robert Frosts collection is actually the first poetry book I purchased and he’s amazing. There are so many good poets to name!! Never too late to discover new things!!
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